


In The End, It Doesn't Even Matter

by Shadow15



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abuse, Attempted Murder, Child Abuse, Dark, Depression, Drug Use, M/M, Not for the faint of heart, Out of Character, Psychopathology & Sociopathy, Rape Aftermath, Sexual Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-21 09:19:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 27
Words: 56,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14912675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow15/pseuds/Shadow15
Summary: Bill realises at a young age something is wrong with Charlie, but for reasons he will never be able to understand, he hides it.  He soon learns it's the biggest mistake he'll ever make because in trying to protect Charlie, he's allowed everyone else to suffer and pay the price instead, and it's something that will forever haunt him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is an incredibly dark one, and I do not advise anyone with a weak stomach or who may find themselves flashing back to anything to read this. I recommend it solely to the people looking for very dark fics to enjoy.

The first time Bill realized Charlie had a sick mind was when he was ten and Charlie was eight and he’d stumbled across a scene that would never leave his mind.  He hadn’t meant to, really; he’d been looking for Charlie to bring him in for lunch when he’d found his little brother kicking a garden gnome around in the air and  _ laughing  _ at its squeals of pain every time Charlie’s shoes made made contact its tiny body. 

“Charlie…?” Bill had frozen, wide-eyed.  When his brother turned around and gave him a smile so impossibly innocent, shudders went down his spine; Charlie  _ looked  _ gentle in this moment, but there was something in his eyes that told Bill the other was feeling anything  _ but  _ gentle.  “…”

Charlie understood the unspoken words.  He shrugged at his brother before he pointed to the gnome which, by now, was laying in the long grass, gasping for breath as it twitched so terribly, Bill felt as if he could cry.  “I was just playing, Bill. Mum and dad aren’t home; I got…  _ bored _ .” 

Bill raised his hand to his mouth, and though it took several seconds for him to reply, he mumbled, “Wouldn’t you rather play a game of Wizard Chess or something…?” 

Charlie made a show of cocking his head to the side and resting his index finger against his chin as he hummed long and loud.  Finally, he gave an unsettling grin. “Nah~ This was more fun, Bill.” 

“Umm…” Bill was in shock.  Did he run away and hide? Tell his parents what had happened so they could handle it?  

Charlie, however, took advantage of his brother’s stunned silence.  A twisted expression crossed his face as he turned his attention back to the gnome and, with one calculated movement, stomped down on its head and stopped it from moving ever again.  With that, he gave a bright, childish smile as he grabbed Bill’s hand and swung their arms back and forth as he skipped back to their house. 

Bill was shaking, Charlie could tell.  He laughed. “Big brother, I  _ love  _ you~” 

Bill melted as those words were purred at him.  He relaxed, and after a taking a deep breath, he murmured, “I love you, too, Charlie…  People will think you’re sick if they ever knew about that, though…” 

Charlie’s laughter came harder.  “Do  _ you  _ think I’m sick, Bill?” 

Bill didn’t hesitate to shake his head. “You’re my brother, and I love you, Charlie.” 

If Bill was older and more experienced, he may have realized that the smirk crossing his brother’s face right now was anything  _ but  _ innocent, but here he was, a young child who simply believed Charlie was happy his big brother loved him in return.

What a mistake that would turn out to be. 

 

* * *

 

The second sign Bill picked up on was how Percy seemed to be growing more and more disconcerted whenever Charlie was around.  With their parents so busy with the twin toddlers and a new sibling ready to be born any day now, they hadn’t had much time to notice how withdrawn Percy was getting, nor the way he clammed up whenever Charlie entered the room.  

But Bill noticed, and since he’d been the one raising his two brothers, he took it upon himself to investigate.  He found Charlie in Percy’s bedroom when he’d let himself in one afternoon, and there he stood, mouth agape as he watched the way Charlie’s stubby fingers twisted and pinched Percy’s pale skin relentlessly while Percy sobbed and tried to back away further up his bed, only to be met with the wall behind him.  

“Charlie, what are you doing?” 

It was the look of utter innocence he was met with that made Bill feel sick as Charlie fixed him with his brightest smile.  “Nothing, big brother~ Just playing with Perce.” 

“Well, Percy doesn’t want to play.” Bill made his way to the bed, and he grabbed Charlie by the shoulders and pulled him away.  “Go read a book or something, Charlie; Percy wants to be alone.” 

Bill didn’t miss the look of anger and loathing on Charlie’s face, however brief it was before it was masked by another big smile.  “Of course, big brother. Perce is boring, anyway; he doesn’t like playing with me.” 

Bill watched the younger leave before he looked at Percy.  “Percy, are you okay?” 

The four-year-old wiped at his wet eyes as he nodded and looked anywhere but at Bill.  “Fine… Fine…”

But in ten years’ time, Bill would learn that Percy wasn’t fine, and if he had the courage to admit the truth to himself, he may have acknowledged he had a partial hand in that as he never had been able to discipline Charlie easily.

Of all the things that had alerted Bill to Charlie’s mental instability, Charlie refusing to go to bed unless he was sleeping in Bill’s arms wasn’t one of them.  They’d been sharing a bed for so long now, it was second nature for Bill.

However, despite all the years they’d been sharing a bed for, Bill had never woken up through the night because of a hand that wasn’t his caressing his body.  His eyes snapped open when his brain registered the feeling of his pants being tugged at, and his hand shot out to wrap tightly around his brother’s wrist.

“Charlie,  _ don’t _ .”  It was the first time Bill had ever gotten short with any of his siblings, and even now he still didn’t have it in him to get  _ too  _ angry.  “You’re my  _ brother _ .” 

Through the darkness, Charlie gave a sadistic smile.  “So? Don’t you do this kind of stuff at school, Bill?”

Bill shook his head.  “No. I don’t, Charlie, and I won’t start with you.  Go back to sleep; it’s late.” 

“I don’t want to sleep.  I want to play a game with my big brother.” From the tender age of six, Charlie had learnt how to wrap Bill around his finger.  For whatever reason, the older Weasley always seemed to melt whenever he was referred to as the big brother, and with meticulous calculating, Charlie had learnt  _ exactly  _ how to manipulate the other to get what he wanted.  

Bill sighed.  His grip loosened on the younger’s wrist and he gently laid his brother’s hands down on the mattress.  “If I play a game with you, you’ll go to sleep? I’m tired, you know…”

Charlie didn’t wait for an invitation; his lips crashed hungrily against Bill’s and despite the other pushing desperately at him to get him away, he didn’t budge; he only forced himself closer and put his hand between the older male’s legs.

“ _ Charlie _ !” Finally, Bill had pushed him away.  He wiped at his wet lips as his eyes burned with anger and  _ hurt _ , and he growled, “Sleep in  _ your  _ bed for tonight!”

Even though Bill couldn’t see it, Charlie put on the puppy dog eyes.  He murmured, “But, Bill…! I’ve never slept alone before…! Please don’t kick me out…  I’m  _ scared _ , big brother!  There’s  _ monsters  _ under my bed!”

Bill wavered in his anger; exactly what Charlie was after.  The younger sneered. “…Please go to your own bed, Charlie…”

Charlie shook his head, and he moved to curl up against the stronger body as he pretended to tremble in fear.  “I’m  _ scared _ , though!  Don’t you  _ want  _ me anymore, big brother?  I’ll  _ kill  _ myself if you don’t!”

It was when the tears fell did Bill panic.  He shushed his brother so he didn’t wake their parents up before he whispered, “I’m sorry!  I’m sorry, Charlie! Please don’t cry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean it!”

For extra effect, Charlie made sure his lower lip shook.  He wiped at his eyes and whispered, “You mean it, big brother…?” 

“I mean it…” And despite wrapping his arms around Charlie and holding him tight, that was the night he learnt Charlie was a manipulating, sadistic little bastard – he just ignored it  _ completely _ .   


	2. Chapter 2

“We shouldn’t… be doing this…” 

From between Bill’s legs, Charlie looked up into the older male’s eyes.  He made a particularly loud slurping noise just for the sake of it before he pulled his mouth away from Bill’s arousal so he could say murmur, “It’s okay, Bill; it’s okay for us to do this.  You don’t want me to kill myself, do you? You know I will if I can’t be with you like this. I just love you so much, Bill; it pains me that you don’t want to be with me like this.” 

Bill frowned.  He reached down to caress the tips of his fingers against Charlie’s cheek.  “Hey… Come on… You know I love you… I just… I don’t like this… But whatever it takes to make you happy, I’ll do it for you, Charlie…” 

They stared into each other’s eyes, but if either of them were going to say anything, they lost their chance as the bedroom door opened and Percy stepped in.  He looked directly at the act before him, but Bill knew he was too young to understand. 

“What are you guys doing…?” He was seven, and Bill could have easily forgiven him for the question. Charlie, however, couldn’t.  

Bill had never seen his brother move so quick; one second Charlie was kneeling between his legs, and the other he was by the door, pinning Percy to the wall by his throat with crushing force that had the boy sputtering for breath.

“Don’t you fuckin’  _ dare  _ say a word to mum or dad about this,” Charlie hissed.  His eyes were almost bulging from their sockets as he tightened his grip on Percy’s throat to become so tight, there were going to be bruises there the next morning.  He slammed the child against the wall repeatedly until Bill had finally arrived and separated the two, pulling Percy into his arms to embrace him tight. 

“Charlie, what’s gotten into you?!” No one else was home with them; their dad was at work, and their mum had taken the younger children to Diagon Alley with her to do the grocery shopping.  It was safe for him to raise his voice, but it seemed in doing so, all it accomplished was making Percy cry harder. “Oh, Percy, don’t cry; please, don’t cry…” 

“I  _ hate  _ Charlie!” Percy exclaimed as he turned around to hide his face against Bill’s chest and wrap his tiny arms around his brother.  “He  _ always  _ hurts me!” 

Bill felt lost.  He knew he should be taking control and putting a stop to  _ everything  _ here and now, but he couldn’t; all he could do was take Percy gently by the shoulders and push him far enough back so they could look into each other’s faces.  He threaded his fingers gently through his little brother’s hair as he whispered, “Percy, I need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to not tell anyone about any of this.  Alright?” 

Percy sniffled.  “I’ve already told mum and dad Charlie hits me…  They don’t believe me; they tell me I’m lying…”

Bill winced.  He could believe that; Charlie had some sort of method of masking absolutely everything he  _ truly  _ felt behind a smile and kind words – of course his parents would believe perfect Charlie could do no wrong.  “Percy… Please…? Especially don’t tell them about what Charlie and I were doing, okay? It’d… It’d get us  _ all  _ into trouble.  You don’t want to be in trouble, too, do you?”

Charlie listened with a predatory smirk.  Finally, Bill was turning out just the way he wanted…  He licked his lips as Percy finally took a step back and gave him a frightened look; next time he could get Percy alone, he’d… 

He shook his head; now wasn’t the time or place to excite himself; he’d have to go outside now and find what tiny, defenseless creatures were running around the Burrow. 

But as it turned out, he wouldn’t need to venture far because almost immediately he heard their mother calling out from downstairs, announcing her return.  His eyes took on a glazed look as he reached down to pull his pants back up and fasten the belt once more. He opened the door, and over his shoulder, he called out, “See ya later, Bill~”

Bill thought nothing of Charlie leaving – in fact, he was glad for it because it meant he could pick Percy up and bring him back to the bed to nurse him tight as he whispered apologies over and over again, making whatever excuses he could come up with for Charlie’s behavior in between  _ begging  _ for the child to keep it a secret.

Downstairs, Charlie greeted Molly with enthusiasm.  He watched the way she juggled her shopping bags off both arms while trying to carry their two youngest siblings at the same time.  His eyes narrowed, and once he got close enough to hug his mum, he made sure to put on his best smile as he reached out to pat Ron and Ginny’s heads as well.  Ginny, still too young to have  _ really  _ gathered much of Charlie’s attention, simply stared blankly at him.  Ron, however, burst into tears. 

“Oh, Ron!  Honestly!” Molly was stressed, but Charlie couldn’t blame her; shopping by herself with those twins in tow would break anyone down.  

Speaking of twins…  The two were standing silently in the corner, holding hands as they each gave him wary, distrustful looks – probably remembering their last encounter, Charlie mused.  

“Boys.” Charlie lowered himself to his knees so he could engulf them both in a hug.  The twins didn’t return it; they only whimpered and tried to pull away. “Let’s go play Exploding Snap.  Okay? It’s a beautiful day; we can sit out in the sun.” 

“Mum…” It was Fred who had tried to spill the beans to Molly, but she was too preoccupied to worry about whatever the older twin had to say. 

“Go outside and play with him, George,” Molly instructed in a much harsher tone than she had intended as she tried her damned hardest to soothe Ron, who only seemed to get more upset with the minute.  

Usually the twins would jump right on correcting Molly using the wrong names for them, but they ignored it; their tiny bodies trembled as Charlie gave a victorious grin and took both of their hands to lead them outside.  “We’re going to have a lot of fun, now, aren’t we, boys? Maybe if we’re lucky, we can convince our big brother to play with us one day, too.” 

Fred stiffened at the words while George made a whimper.  It was what Charlie liked about those boys; they were so alike, yet… so  _ different,  _ and it was amazing the different reactions he could get out of them at any given time.  

“We d-don’t want Bill to play, too…” Fred whispered as he squeezed his twin’s hand tightly.  “He’s too…  _ big _ …” 

Now that they were outside and were out of earshot, Charlie barked out a laugh.  “Too big? You mean he can hurt you more than _ I  _ can?  I don’t know about that, Fred.  I’d  _ love  _ to find out one day soon, though.  Let’s go play in the broomshed today, okay?  While dad’s at work, no one will bother us; they’ll just think we’ve gone down to the river or something.” 

It was at those words did George dig his feet into the ground and try to pull away.  “No! No!” 

Charlie let out a loud growl, and uncaring for anyone who saw him, he grabbed George by the hair and yanked him so hard, a handful of hair was ripped from his skull.  He succeeded in tossing the tiny boy across the yard, and with a swift kick to his side, he snarled, “Get in there, George. You need to be more obedient like Fred is.  _ He  _ doesn’t argue with me.” 

George knew it would only get worse if he continued to disobey, so he scurried up from the dirt and fled into the broomshed so fast, he ran into the back wall, he couldn’t stop in time.  

Fred was silent as he stepped in next.  He stared at his feet the entire time, but once Charlie had followed them inside and shut the door, the only light was that of what filtered in through the wooden cracks.  Both twins trembled, but while Fred only stood and bowed his head in silence, George had collapsed to his knees as his pants dampened in fear. 

Charlie snorted.  He prowled closer so he could stand before George and admire the way his brother’s quaking begun resembling a seizure.  In the sweetest tone he could muster, he reached out to take George’s chin in his hand and murmur, “Oh, George, I’m not going to  _ hit  _ you.  What kind of monster do you think I am?  You’re just scared. It’s okay. It’s okay.  I know you’re afraid of me. Shh… You’re such a good boy…” 

The tears came hard once Charlie had taken him into a hug that lacked all warmth George knew embraces were supposed to give.  He reached out towards Fred for help, but Fred stayed where he was like the obedient puppy Charlie had taught him to be. “F-f-fred…!”

“Shh…” Charlie sat down against an old crate and pulled George onto his lap.  He forced the boy’s head to the side so he could plant a kiss against his brother’s temple, and with that, he let out a pleased sigh and dropped his chin to the younger’s shoulder.  “Such a good boy… Good boy, George…” 

Those weren’t words of comfort, no matter  _ how much  _ they sounded like they were.  George had learnt better, lulled into a false sense of security and then hurt  _ far  _ too many times to have not learnt his lesson by now.  “F-freddie…” 

“Oh, sweet George, haven’t you learnt by now?” Charlie chuckled.  “The big brother  _ always  _ gives the punishment.  I’m your big,  _ big  _ brother, but Fred is the older twin, so it’s up to  _ him  _ to keep you in line.  Now, Fred. Get Bill’s broom and hit him with it fifty times for pissing himself.” 

Amidst George’s screams, Fred obeyed.  He didn’t feel particularly  _ good  _ about it, but it was what Charlie had told him had to happen – that since he was George’s big brother,  _ he  _ was allowed and  _ expected  _ to hurt his twin, but George couldn’t lay a  _ finger  _ on him or else he’d have to be punished.  He didn’t like it, but Charlie had reassured him Bill did the same thing to Charlie, so…  It  _ must  _ be okay.  

Finally, when the beating stopped, Charlie gave a lazy grin as he leant back onto his elbow to survey the scene; George collapsed on the floor, bleeding and quivering, with Fred standing over him, broom still in hand.  He licked his lips.

“Percy walked in on me and Bill doing something today.” His mouth went dry in anticipation.  “I’d  _ love  _ to see you two doing it as well.” 

It was when the shed door was yanked open and Arthur let out a yelp of surprise at finding the boys in here did Charlie leap to his feet and snatch the broom from Fred before he yelled, “Don’t hit your brother with a _ broom,  _ Fred!” 

Arthur looked extremely puzzled, until he noticed George laying on the ground, still crying his eyes out as he shook terribly.  “Oh, no… George…? What happened, Charlie?” 

Charlie watched his father scoop the younger twin up into his arms, and in his most sincere tone, he exclaimed, “I chased the twins out here when I saw them at the shed door.  I was upstairs with Bill; when I got here, they must have had a fight or something because Fred was hitting George with Bill’s broomstick, dad.”

Arthur nodded.  He held George close to his chest, attributing both twins’ shaking to be because they knew they were in trouble for fighting and going into the broomshed when they knew they weren’t allowed.  He glared at Fred as he yelled so loud, Charlie thought the shed might fall down on them. “How many times have we told you to  _ stop  _ hitting your  _ brother _ , Fred?!  If you don’t start keeping your hands off him, I’m going to put the belt to your behind again!  You  _ know  _ how you hitting him all the time is affecting him!” 

It was when Arthur had stormed out of the shed, all thoughts of going for a fly after a stressful day of work out of his mind, to get George treatment for his wounds did Charlie step behind Fred and wrap his arms tight around the boy’s shoulders.  

He smiled as Fred cried loudly, and he got to his knees so he could whisper into his brother’s ear, “It’s a big brother thing, being yelled at and blamed for everything.  I know, Fred, but this is normal; Bill and I get yelled at, too; you just have to learn to ignore it. You’re doing the right thing; you  _ have  _ to take all the blame when you’re the one who has to punish George.  You both are such good,  _ good  _ little boys.”

And with that, Charlie was gone, leaving Fred to cry his heart out in the broomshed alone. 


	3. Chapter 3

The thing that Charlie hated above all else was whenever Bill’s attention was fixed on anything but  _ him _ .  It made anger and hatred swell inside of him, churning away as he had to drag his nails through his flesh hard enough to draw blood to keep himself grounded while he did his best to control his urges to rip apart with his bare hands whatever Bill was focused on.  

Laughter was something he  _ resented _ .  It made his skin crawl in disgust, and whenever he heard his little brothers laughing, it took everything he had to keep himself from laying them down on the ground and stomping them to death.  

So of course, to have  _ both  _ of those things combined…  Well, Charlie was sure if anyone took notice of the twisted expression on his face, they might realise just how messed up his mind was. 

“Stop it, Bill!  It tickles!” 

It was one of the twins, squealing his head off in between joyous laughs as Bill’s own gentle laughter joined in while he tickled the twins silly.  The rest of his family were here, too; in the living room, doing their own things while it was what Molly had called “family time” many years ago. The twins were play wrestling with Bill, Arthur was reading the Daily Prophet, Ron and Ginny were both asleep together in the small play area the corner of the living room had been turned into, and Molly was measuring Percy by the couch so she could adjust some of Charlie’s old clothing for the boy.  

Charlie was the odd one out, sitting next to his father and doing nothing but observing the rest of his family.  It angered him further to know that none of them noticed or  _ cared  _ that he could be lonely where he was, and his hands clenched together.

“What’s wrong, Charlie?” Arthur must have felt Charlie’s body tense, because he had lowered his newspaper and was now looking at his son in concern.  

“Headache…” he mumbled.  “Can you tell the twins to be quiet, dad?” 

While Arthur gently asked the three to quieten down a little, Molly abandoned the clothing she was now making marks on to fuss over Charlie.  She put the back of her hand against the teen’s forehead as she frowned. “Oh, honey, you certainly do feel hot. Do you want to go and have a lay down?” 

“Only if Bill stays with me…” Well, if Charlie was going to have to cover his tracks, he may as well get something from it.  He sent his oldest brother his best puppy dog eyes, and as expected, they worked.

Bill untangled himself from Fred’s lanky arms so he could stand up and smile brightly at the twins.  He patted their heads as he murmured, “I’m going to go make sure Charlie is okay. I’ll play with you guys again soon, okay?” 

Fred and George both pouted.  Fred’s tiny hands grabbed the back of Bill’s shirt to stop him leaving as he leant up onto his tiptoes and whispered, “Charlie is really scary, Bill…  He’ll hurt you like he hurts us…” 

It was one of the hardest things in his life, seeing his baby brothers so nervous.  He shook his head and gave a reassuring smile. “It’ll be okay; he won’t hurt me. I love you both.” 

The twins both wrapped their arms around Bill before they stepped back to watch him leave.  Bill passed Percy, who had moved to the bookshelf to find a book to read for a while. He tried to give the younger a hug, too, but Percy only recoiled and looked away. 

“Percy?” Bill frowned.  “Why don’t you go play with the twins?” 

“Don’t want to…” The boy scuffed his foot along the ground.  “Charlie… says I’m too boring to play with…” 

“You’re  _ not  _ boring,” Bill promised.  “Don’t listen to what Charlie says; he doesn’t mean what comes out of his mouth.” 

Percy shrugged.  “Yes, he does… No one else wants to see that, though…” 

The older male sighed.  “Percy… I’ll talk to you about this shortly; I’m going to go and see Charlie and make sure he’s okay.” 

Percy didn’t even bother responding; he simply snatched a book at random from the bookshelf before he went back to the couch to read in silence for a few hours.  

Bill tried not to think about what Charlie had been doing to their little brothers as he made his way upstairs to their bedroom.  He passed Molly on the stairs, who said she’d tucked him in tight already and Charlie was just waiting on Bill, so he picked his pace up until he was sitting on the edge of Charlie’s bed, staring down into a face that was  _ far  _ from sick.

“What was the purpose of getting me up here?” When he only received a shrug and a sly grin in response, he sighed.  “Forget that; what have you been doing to Percy and the twins? They’re  _ terrified  _ of you.” 

Charlie’s smirk grew.  There was something sinister about him now, but Bill couldn’t pick up on what exactly it was.  “Percy isn’t any fun, Bill. He’s so  _ boring _ !  But I  _ love  _ playing with the twins, Bill.  Fred does everything I tell him to, and when I make George cry, it makes me so  _ hard~ _  Will you play with us, big brother~?  You can do  _ whatever  _ you  _ want  _ to them and I won’t tell~”

Bill choked on his breath.  “Charlie… They’re little boys!  They’re  _ five _ !” 

“So?  Big brother, don’t you want to see the way they writhe under your hands?  The way they shudder and cry and  _ scream  _ when I let them?  It’s so beautiful, big brother; I so badly want you to see it.” 

Bill felt like vomit was crawling it’s way up his throat. He whispered, “What have you been doing to them…?” 

The younger licked his lips now, and his facial expression became predatory. “Nothing I wouldn’t let you do to  _ me, _ big brother. In fact, it’d turn me on so much if you abused me like I do them.  Please, Bill? Choke me and whisper into my ear about how much of a slut I am. Hold me face down on the floor and spank me like the naughty little shit I am.  Shove your hard cock into me and fuck me like a common whore until I’m bleeding everywhere.” 

Panic consumed Bill, and all he could think about was his poor little twin brothers, forced into things they were too young to understand. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he almost considered running downstairs and telling their mother everything. 

…But his love for Charlie won out, and instead all he could do was whimper, “Did you…?” 

Charlie laughed. He understood the question, and he waved a dismissive hand in the air as he said, “Course not, Bill; I’d tear them both into pieces. I’d never get away with that.” 

Bill let out a sigh of relief. “Thank god…” 

“That’s why I make Fred do it.” 

“W-what…?” Surely Bill hadn’t heard correctly. He’d misheard; his brother surely wasn’t like that…  

“You heard me. I make Fred –“ 

“-Charlie, no!” His eyes filled with tears.  “They’re five!” 

Charlie rolled into his stomach and peered lazily up at his brother. “So?  Apart from you, Fred is the only other person I like. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him, big brother; I look after him, just like how you’d look after me.”

Bill shook his head. “So what have you been doing to George instead?” 

The younger licked his lips. “What haven’t I done to him?  I taught him he has to let Fred do those things to him because he’s the little brother. Fred enjoys it; it makes me so hot seeing the way he gets so excited while George cries.”

As soon as Bill made a beeline for the bedroom door, Charlie knew what he had to do. He forced tears to his eyes as he faked a sob and whimpered, “A-are you going to tell on me, big brother…?”

Bill froze with his hand on the doorknob. “…”

“You’ll get me in trouble, big brother…. Are you giving up on me…?  I know it’s so wrong…. I need help; not judgement…. Please, don’t give up on me, Bill…. I love you so much...  I need you…” 

It was enough for Bill to take his hand off the doorknob, and though he didn’t turn around to face the smaller male, he still murmured, “They’re children, Charlie…. Why do you treat all of our brothers so badly…?” 

Charlie shrugged.  “Do you hate me for it, Bill?” 

“Of course I don’t hate you,” Bill promised. “But I don’t want you hurting them anymore... Please, stop…. For me?”

Charlie had no intention whatsoever of obeying, but still he nodded; he had a plan for this, and with a bit of luck he could put it into action tonight once everyone else was in bed. 

Thankfully, his plan played out perfectly after dinner once Molly had put all of their younger siblings into bed and she had time for her two eldest for once. 

“Mum?” Charlie put on his most innocent look as he played with his hands behind his back and danced on his tiptoes. Molly looked up from the socks she had been knitting, and once he had her smile on him, he put on a shy act and mumbled, “Can Bill and I have hot chocolate, mummy?  I still don’t feel very well…” 

“Oh, sweetie, of course,” Molly promised. “Go back to bed and I’ll bring them up.” 

Charlie went back upstairs, and he was glad to see his brother sleeping; it meant he wouldn’t notice the potion Charlie would be spiking his chocolate with.  

Once Molly had brought them up and left the boys on their own, Charlie tipped the potion in and stirred it in before he grinned and took it to his brother’s side. 

“Big brother?” Charlie shook the older male’s shoulder gently. He waited until Bill had rolled over to see what he wanted before he presented the mug of hot chocolate and smiled childishly. “Mum made us hot chocolate. Will you drink with me, big brother?” 

As tired as he was, Bill still agreed, and Charlie almost foamed at the mouth; he should have done this sooner…


	4. Chapter 4

When Bill was eighteen and Charlie sixteen, a flaw finally arose in Charlie’s scheme for the past five years. 

“They offered me a job at Gringotts now that I’ve finished school,” Bill said happily over dinner. “I think I’m going to accept it.” 

Charlie gripped his fork so tightly, it bent. He glared down at his plate, and while his siblings took notice of his behaviour, neither his parents or Bill did.  Fred stared down at his plate as his shoulders tensed, and while Percy reached under the table to squeeze Ron and Ginny’s hands comfortingly, George whimpered and his body begun to tremble.  

“Fred!” 

The entire table jumped at Molly’s shout now, even Charlie who had always prided himself on being difficult to scare.  They turned to look at her, and while every one of Charlie’s siblings gave the older twin a sympathetic look, Charlie didn’t; he instead grinned, knowing the younger was, once again, copping the blame for his actions.  

“What did you do to him  _ this  _ time?!” Molly could have been frothing at the mouth with how angry she was.  She pointed to George, and while the boy may have been okay had his mother’s attention not focused on him and his twin, he couldn’t stop himself from wetting his pants.  “Looking like someone’s going to attack him, Fred! How many times do we need to take you back to that psychiatrist before you’ll stop hurting your brothers?!” 

Charlie couldn’t stop himself from laughing as Fred so desperately whimpered how he hadn’t done anything to George; oh, how nice it was to have a scapegoat.  Bill, however, fixed him with an upset look, and Charlie understood the unspoken words; Bill wanted to talk to him in private. 

Charlie pushed his plate away, and in his most polite tone, he softly said, “Mother?  I’m finished. Thank you for the meal; I’m going to turn in early; I’ve still got a lot of holiday homework to do and I want to start it bright and early tomorrow.” 

The pride on Molly’s face couldn’t have spoken any louder as she beamed at her second-born and nodded while she was in the process of helping George to his feet to try and calm his shaking.  She held the younger twin close as she locked eyes with Charlie and murmured, “I’m so proud of you, Charlie; you’re already paving the way for Percy.” 

Bill, who had also stood up to excuse himself, waited for Charlie to join him before they went upstairs to their bedroom.  Not a word was spoken until their bedroom door had closed behind them and Charlie was on his tiptoes, crushing their mouths together hungrily as he tugged at his brother’s shirt.  

Bill was almost lost in the kiss.  His eyes had closed, and he groaned loudly as he felt his shirt being pulled from his body.  He pressed into the hand that cupped him thorough his jeans, but before he could indulge  _ too  _ much, he remembered why he had wanted to talk to the younger.  

The taller male pushed Charlie away so they could look into each other’s eyes.  He sighed sadly. “Charlie… You  _ promised  _ me you weren’t going to keep hurting our brothers…  What did you do to get Fred into trouble?” 

“Nothing, big brother.”  It was one of those rare moments where Charlie was being one-hundred percent truthful.  He rocked on the heels of his feet as he smiled brightly. “I just taught him really well, Bill; that’s all.  He knows he’s allowed to hurt George whenever and however he wants; he was probably punishing the stupid little mutt for something; we only just got back for holidays, remember?” 

“Charlie…” Bill placed his huge hands on Charlie’s shoulders and squeezed as he stared as deeply into the other’s eyes as he could.  “Have you not realized George has not said a single word for three years now? He barely even makes  _ sound _ .  Percy isolates himself like nothing I’ve ever seen, and Fred is…  Is…”

A malicious glint crossed Charlie’s eyes.  He stalked closer to the older male so he could lick his lips.  “He’s _ what,  _ big brother?   _ Say  _ it. _  Say  _ what he is.” 

“…” Bill gulped.  “…He’s  _ you _ …” 

Charlie’s fist came so quickly, Bill hadn’t had time to dodge it.  His knuckles connected with Bill’s cheekbone so hard, blood dribbled down Charlie’s fingers.  The look on his face was deranged, and for the first time in his life, he thought he might be  _ afraid  _ of Charlie; with how wide his eyes had become, and the way his lips had twisted into an unsettling sneer, chills ran down his spine. 

“Big brother…” Charlie pressed his stocky body against the older male’s side.  He wrapped his arms tight around Bill as he nuzzled his cheek against his brother’s shoulder.  He moaned softly as he rubbed his hips against the older male’s thigh. “…Big brother, what on earth do you mean by that…?”

Bill swallowed blood that was pooling in his mouth.  He gulped thickly. “…”

The tips of Charlie’s fingers ghosted against his brother’s unclothed chest, against bruises and cuts and  _ burns  _ that would never have been there had it not been for  _ him _ .  He smiled as he got onto his knees so kiss along the deep gash on Bill’s hip that formed a crooked C.  He pressed his tongue in between the torn flesh for extra pain before he pulled away and smiled innocently.  “You mean because I taught Fred to be abusive like I am? Big brother… I  _ like  _ you; I  _ have  _ to hurt you, just like how Fred has to hurt  _ that thing  _ because he – I don’t know  _ how  _ – likes  _ it,  _ too.”

It was at those words Bill did something he’d never done before.  He pushed Charlie away from him as he growled, “ _ Don’t  _ talk about them like that, Charlie.  Don’t even  _ touch  _ me tonight.  Just… Just go to bed and leave me alone.” 

Charlie snarled something under his breath.  He threw another punch which split Bill’s lips and drew blood from his nose, but to Bill’s surprise, he gave up after that.  The older brother turned his back so he could glare at his wall in silence, oblivious to the way the younger was now rummaging around in his desk drawer for something.  He was too busy trying to re-dress himself to notice the way Charlie had suddenly fallen silent behind him, and he only took notice once he felt strong arms around his neck and hands trying to pry his jaws open. 

He tried fighting Charlie away, but even though he was smaller than Bill, he was stronger, and whatever the younger had in that vial had been tipped into his mouth and forced down his throat.  His vision went spotty almost immediately, and the next thing he knew, he had given up all resistance as moving around made him feel like he was going to pass out. 

“Shh…” Charlie wiped blood from his face where he had been elbowed in the nose.  He laid his brother down on the bed as if he were some delicate piece of china that would break if he weren’t careful, and with that, he sat beside the older male, stroking hair from Bill’s now-sweaty face.

“What did… you do…?” Bill groaned as heat flushes assaulted him.  He panted, wanting to get somewhere cool but not having the energy to move.  He clenched his jaw when he felt his pants tightening; whatever Charlie had given him, he’d… 

“Relax…  Shh…” Charlie continued stroking his brother’s head.  “It’s okay, big brother… It’s okay… Shh… I made this – just for you.  It’s love potion, with a bit of lust mixed into it as well. There’s also…  _ other  _ uses for it, but I don’t believe you need to know just yet.” 

Bill groaned.  “How long… have you been giving that to me…?” 

Charlie grinned.  “Every day for the past five years.  You see, big brother… I realized at dinner that there is a flaw with this.  You will fall out of love with me if you take that job. I can’t let that happen.  You need to stay here with me and never leave me. I can’t let you go, big brother.  I  _ won’t  _ let you go.  If you take that job, I’m going to be so heartbroken, I’m not going to want to live.  You don’t want to be responsible for that, do you, Bill? For my suicide?”

Bill groaned weakly.  He panted, trying desperately to cool his body down.  “Charlie… Please…” 

“No, I don’t think I’m in the mood anymore.  You’ve upset me too much tonight for me to want to have sex with you.  You’re a horrible, nasty, hurtful brother and I think I might even be starting to hate you for this.”  With that said, Charlie got back up and moved to his drawers again. He resurfaced with rope, a vibrator and a cock ring, and with little care, he set to work at tying his brother up and using the toys on him.  He stood up with a pleased grin. “Now you stay here and think about the hurt you’re putting me through, Bill.”

With a final thought, Charlie took hold of one of his socks and stuffed it in Bill’s mouth before he turned the vibrator on and let it run inside his brother.  He whistled happily to himself as he left the room, knowing no one was going to find Bill, so he went downstairs to find his parents and tell them that maybe he was going to stay up a little later after all, but Bill was already asleep. 

It was when he found Percy in the kitchen with all of his siblings did he realise Molly and Arthur weren’t home, and with Bill out of the picture…  

“Where’s mum and dad?” Charlie stalked ever closer to the children, making sure to block off their only escape route as he did so. 

Percy looked scared for all of three seconds until he felt George clinging to his arm, the familiar wetness against his leg that was his little brother wetting himself like he did so every time Charlie was around, and the soft wailing of Ron and Ginny who had taken to hugging each other away in the furthest corner from Charlie.  

When Percy realized his siblings had no one but him right now, he took a deep breath and forced out, “Mum and dad took Fred to St. Mungo’s to see the psychiatrists…  They said they’ll be back soon…” 

Charlie grinned.  He faked interest as he circled around the two oldest, eyeing them off like they were candy.  “What were you four doing down here? You all should be in bed by now.”

Percy looked to his feet.  “…I was getting them cookies…” 

The older male laughed.  “You should have asked  _ me  _ to get them.  Of course… I’d give you all something  _ better  _ than cookies…  Percy, usually this is a game I play with the twins, but since Fred isn’t here, you can take his place.  Okay? If you play nice with George, I’ll give you something yummier than cookies.” 

Percy wasn’t stupid.  The second George clung to him and started crying, Percy knew whatever Charlie had in mind wasn’t nice.  He shook his head, and gathering up all of the courage he had, he growled, “Piss off…” 

Charlie’s grin dropped, and it was replaced by a nasty grimace.  “You little slut…”

Percy closed his eyes as he braced himself for the attack, but it didn’t come on him; his eyes snapped open once again when he heard Ron and Ginny squeal from behind him, and when he laid eyes on the sight that was his big brother strangling his two youngest siblings, something inside of him  _ snapped _ .  

A horrible, twisted scream escaped Percy’s throat as he pushed George away and made a beeline to the carving knife Molly had left on the bench earlier when preparing dinner.  His screaming never stopped, and for whatever reason, Charlie never saw the attack coming until the knife had penetrated his side several dozen times, spraying blood over all of them and their immediate surroundings.  

Percy never stopped stabbing, not until a hand far larger than his own had grabbed his wrist and stilled the attack.  It was Bill, looking rather beat up himself, with George cowering behind him, and somewhere in his fuzzy mind he assumed George must have gone and fetched Bill.  

Bill said nothing as he gently took the knife from Percy.  He only shook his head at the younger before he grabbed Charlie and pulled him onto his lap, taking his wand from his back pocket and whispering mending spells to try and stop the bleeding.  

A gasp from the doorway startled everyone, and Molly’s scream was enough to almost bring the house down.  “What happened here?!” 

“…” Bill closed his eyes.  He hugged Charlie tighter, aware of the other’s eyes fixed angrily on him as he whispered, “People broke in…” 

“No, they didn’t!” Percy sobbed as he pointed at Charlie.  “Charlie was going to hurt us! Right, George!” 

Arthur’s eyes fixed on George.  “Is that true, son?” 

George wasted no time in shaking his head.  He wrapped his arms tight around himself as he pointed to Bill, hoping they would understand he was trying to say he agreed with his oldest brother, despite knowing Percy was telling the truth.  

Molly rushed to Charlie’s side so she could assess the damage and throw in some healing spells of her own.  Her eyes filled with tears as she hugged her second-born tightly. “Oh, Charlie… You must just have been trying to protect the boys…” 

When Percy burst into hysterics, Bill felt his heart break; what was he doing…?   


	5. Chapter 5

Charlie had never cared for Hogwarts, and the only thing that had made it even slightly tolerable was having Bill by his side – but now, with Bill gone, Hogwarts was an absolute nightmare.  

“Oh, Charlie, you’re amazing with that unicorn.” 

Despite the calm smile on his face, inside, Charlie was rolling his eyes.  His voice was soft as he murmured, “You just need to understand their pain.  This poor little guy must have been very scared.” 

The girls in his Care of Magical Creatures class always swooned over him, especially in situations such as now, where he was bandaging the injured leg of a young unicorn as an example to his class.  They must have thought him something completely different to what he  _ really  _ was, and Charlie couldn’t help but snigger at how they would react if they realized what  _ really  _ happened inside his head. 

“Charlie, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?” 

If Charlie actually felt things, he may have found her pretty – but her blushing, shy disposition was as much a turn off for him as Percy was.  He smiled gently. “I’d love to, Chantelle, but I already have plans for this weekend with my twin brothers.” 

“Oh…  Maybe another time then.” She didn’t get the hint, and if Charlie wasn’t as good as mimicking social norms as he was, he may have lashed out then and there and told her  _ exactly  _ what he thought.

Instead, his smile brightened.  “Raincheck.” 

The classes dragged on as they always did, his teachers and fellow classmates adoring him, but it wasn’t enough; whenever the attention was finally off him, his fingers twitched and he growled to himself as he felt the familiar pangs of withdrawal cravings settle deep into his stomach.

The last class of the day couldn’t have been more welcomed by the time Charlie was scooping his things up and hurrying back to his dorm so he could finally take advantage of what was left of his afternoon.  No one questioned why he was in such a rush to get back; they assumed it had to do with being a Prefect.

But finally, once he had dumped his belongings onto his bed and rummaged deep within his trunk while he was alone, he could finally feel the withdrawals settle; soon…  

“Charlie?” 

He jumped at the voice within the doorway, and from his hands fell several small zip bags.  His eyes narrowed at the twins, and while they were alone, he didn’t put his act back on. “I’ve fucking  _ told  _ you about sneaking up on me like that, Fred.  What do you want?” 

Fred was unfazed as he pointed to the items his brother had dropped.  “Can we have some more?” 

Charlie’s eyes flickered between the twins.  Fred was enthusiastic, but George was his usual cowering self, more so than usual.  The older male laughed; the younger twin clearly remembered what had happened last time.  “Yes. But you remember what the deal is.” 

“I suck your cock for you and you let me get fucked up.” Fred was giddy with excitement, and it was enough for George to whimper and start backing away slowly, trying not to be noticed.  Fred grabbed his wrist and pulled him back before he could get too far, and with a look in his eyes that was genuine love, he smiled and tried to soothe his twin. “Shh… What’s wrong, Georgie?  You like this. It’s okay. Shh…”

Charlie sneered at the way Fred run his knuckles comfortingly against George’s cheek.  “Why be nice to that thing, Fred? He doesn’t  _ deserve  _ kindness or gentleness.  Don’t give him  _ any  _ affection; next time he tries to back away, dislocate all of his fingers one at a time like I taught you to.” 

For a split second, Fred looked torn between obeying and continuing what he was doing, but the decision was made as soon as he realized they were alone and no one was around to witness.  He raised his knee and shoved it as hard as he could into his twin’s stomach, knocking the air from George’s lungs, and once the youngest was on the floor, he kicked into already-bruised ribs, again and again until he heard footsteps coming up the spiral staircase.  He turned his nose up at his trembling brother and instead grinned at Charlie. “Was that good?” 

Charlie patted soft red hair as he gave a solemn nod.  “Very good. You can finish your punishment soon. Get him to his feet and clean the piss up.  Meet me in the common room in five minutes.” 

Charlie didn’t stick around to see the end result that would be whoever was coming upstairs finding his brothers, but he didn’t really care what it would be; the school knew Fred was abusive and had been suffering massive anger problems for two years now, and most of their house had seen his outbursts at George and the way he would just lose the plot for tiny,  _ tiny  _ little things, like dropping his books or losing his quill – whoever was coming upstairs was most likely going to assume it was just another day and do their best to ignore whatever was happening. 

Percy was already downstairs, studying away like the pathetic loser Charlie knew he was.  He laughed at the way his brother’s body almost spasmed with fear at the sight of him before Percy got it together and instead focused his fear into a look of hatred he didn’t dare drop lest Charlie win.  

“Can I help you with anything, Perce?” Charlie’s gentle, silky tone was second nature to slip into.  “What homework is that? I’m sure I’ll be able to teach you.”

Percy shuddered.  He shook his head, and in a biting manner, he growled, “No, thank you…” 

Charlie didn’t get a chance to reply; Fred’s yelling could be heard coming from the staircase, and the crowds of students gathered around all turned to see what was happening  _ this  _ time.  He intended on sitting back and enjoying the show, stepping in only once he would need to so as to not arouse any suspicions, but for now…

“Fred, stop,” Charlie finally commanded.  Now that all eyes were fixed on him, he shook his head.  “You’re scaring him. Come and get some fresh air outside with me and tell me all about it.” 

But things didn’t go as smoothly as he had planned; Percy had stood up, and despite how afraid of his older brother he was, he still commanded, “George, don’t go with them.  Stay in here with me.” 

Charlie’s eyes narrowed, and when George bolted from their sides to hide in Percy’s arms, he could have slaughtered the entire room.  His tone was far colder than it usually was in public as he muttered, “Oh, Perce, you’re busy with homework. Don’t worry; I can look after him.” 

“Fuck off!”  It was the first time anyone at Hogwarts had ever heard quiet, subdued Percy raise his voice to anyone.  He wrapped his arms tight around George and held him close, giving him the affection he so desperately craved but was never given.  “He’s staying with  _ me _ , Charlie.” 

Charlie’s eyes wandered around the room.  He almost lashed out, but he caught himself just in time.  He swallowed. “Percy… You are  _ studying,  _ and as the older brother, it’s my  _ job  _ to look after him.  George, come  _ here _ .” 

Sometimes Charlie wandered if George was just that scared of him, or if he had trained him  _ too  _ well, because as soon as he used that sentence, he came without hesitation.  He gave Percy a victorious grin before he put his hand on George’s shoulder and _ squeezed _ .  

Percy’s hands clenched.  “Charlie…”

“Not to worry, Perce.” It was Charlie’s favourite tone; one that sounded so angelic to everyone else’s ears, yet his siblings knew it meant  _ danger _ .  “I’ll look after him.” 

And with that, Charlie had ushered the twins far from the castle and out past the Quidditch field so they could hide away in the border of the forest.  No one else knew about that spot, and it was what Charlie liked most about it.

“You know, this could have been  _ a lot  _ easier had you  _ listened,  _ George.” Charlie had lit the tip of his wand into a flame so he could hold it to the end of the joint he had pulled from one of the zip bags.  He lit it before he passed it over to Fred. “We could have been out here enjoying ourselves sooner, but you  _ had  _ to throw a fucking tantrum, didn’t you?” 

George looked deathly pale as he lay in the dirt, curled up on his side with his head in Fred’s lap and his arms around his twin’s middle, trying to look anywhere but at his older brother.  His body quivered violently. 

Charlie took out another joint, but before he lit it, he put the end of his wand against George’s neck and held it there as the younger cried out in pain.  He smirked. “Share your joint with him, Fred; he’s been too naughty to get his own today.” 

Fred nodded, and despite being an eleven-year-old, the way he smoked his joint made Charlie almost burst with pride; he had taught that kid  _ so  _ well over the years…  He smoked his own slowly as he watched with enjoyment the way Fred forced the blunt past George’s lips and had to punch him in the stomach to get him to inhale; George never had taken to drugs as easily as Fred had, but that was okay; he would get him there eventually.  

The older Weasley pulled out the rest of his zip bags, and he sorted through them with interest as he decided what to take next; his contact in Hogsmeade had hooked him up with some new stuff, and he almost considered testing it all out on George first to see what he should expect if he were to take it himself. 

He smirked, and as he reached down to unzip his pants, he locked eyes with Fred.  “Hurry up and suck me; I’ve got enough here to fuck us all up well and truly – and we’re going to try it all out on George first.” 

That was the first miscalculation of his many plans to go wrong.  

 

* * *

 

Charlie didn’t know what time it was when he was shaken awake by Professor McGonagall.  He groaned, and once he had blinked the sleep from his eyes, he murmured, “S’wrong…?” 

McGonagall had never seemed so stoic as she led Charlie from the Gryffindor Tower and in a brisk walk.  She said nothing until they eventually stopped outside the door he recognized to be that of the infirmary wing.  “I must warn you, Mr. Weasley… What you are about to see… may be  _ confronting _ …”

The second the door was opened, Charlie heard the familiar wails he recognized to be Fred’s.  He cocked his head to the side as he moved further into the room to see what was happening, and once he recognized his three brothers around one bed, he almost laughed as he clicked on; he had been sure whatever those drugs had made George sick with would eventually pass, but evidently not if what he was hearing  _ was  _ the younger twin vomiting.

McGonagall was back by his side, and she looked as if she had aged a century overnight.  “I was awoken by Percy; Fred had come to him in tears. When we got him here… Mr. Weasley, there is no easy way for me to tell you this… but your brother has been  _ tortured _ , and from the evidence presented, it may have been happening over a period of time.  We believe he has been drugged during; he has tested positive for multiple drugs and they are the cause of his sickness – which, by the looks of things, may prove to have been a fatal combination for him.  Your parents are on their way; his body is too young and too small for  _ any  _ of this and he may not make it through the night.” 

Charlie needed to act fast.  He was relieved Percy hadn’t overheard as he didn’t trust his brother to not say anything, so whispering back, he said, “I found the twins today after classes, Professor; I found out today Fred has been…  Has been taking  _ advantage  _ of him…  I wanted to write to our parents first before I told any teachers…”

McGonagall’s eyes widened, and she looked as if she were about to cry.  “But the drugs…! Where would a child so young have access to  _ Muggle drugs?! _ ” 

Charlie pointed to Percy, who was holding George tight as he bawled his eyes out as hard as Fred was doing.  “Check Percy’s trunk, Professor; he acted  _ very _ out of character today and I fear he may be indulging in it – I think he must have…  He must have been  _ introducing  _ the twins to it…”

McGonagall nodded.  “Now that you mention it, we did find traces of it in Fred’s system, too…  I will have their belongings searched immediately.”

Charlie forced tears to come to his eyes.  “Now if you don’t mind, Professor… This… This is very difficult for me…  I’d like to go back to bed and process this all on my own…”

McGonagall wiped at her eyes.  “Of course, Mr. Weasley… Of course…” 

The second Charlie was out of that infirmary, he smirked; it was going to be a long night, but finally, he had found a way to get back at Percy.  First step; hide all of his drugs in his brother’s belongings and sit back and relax and enjoy the show. 


	6. Chapter 6

“Bill?” Charlie couldn’t believe his eyes when he woke up three weeks later and found Bill standing at the end of his bed, looking more stressed than Charlie could remember seeing him.  He looked to his side when he felt something moving in his arms, and he gave George a warning squeeze to stay still. “What are you doing here?” 

Bill’s eyes were fixed on George, and he had never been so strained as he murmured, “I see you’re… looking after George, Charlie…”

Charlie heard snoring from around him, and it was then he realized just how careful he had to be; if anyone overheard…  “Yeah, Bill; he only has me, now; McGonagall thought it’d be a good idea if he stays with me at night – you know, just in case someone tries taking advantage of him again.” 

Finally, Bill’s eyes wandered from the tear trails running down George’s cheeks, and he nodded his head at the bloodied vibrator peeking out from beneath the blankets.  “Taking good care of him for Fred, I see…” 

Charlie didn’t even bother hiding the vibrator.  He rolled his eyes and lifted the blankets to reveal George’s bloodied thighs, but what hurt Bill the most was the fact that George’s penis was erect and trapped amongst a cock-ring  _ far  _ too tight for him, and he had a strong suspicion it had been that way all night.  “Of course I take good care of him; we play together nice and  _ carefully _ , Bill; would  _ hate  _ for him to have to go through what he did with  _ Fred _ again.” 

Bill knew what his brother was talking about; Charlie, the sly,  _ sly  _ little shit, wasn’t stupid enough to put his dick anywhere  _ near  _ George in case he were to be checked over for any more abuse.  He moved over to the bed so he could try and get the ring off George.  Mindful of the sleeping boys around them, he whispered, “Someone put Fred up to all that, and it wasn’t Percy, was it, Charlie?” 

A playful smirk crossed Charlie’s face.  He shrugged as he fixed his gaze on what his brother was doing between George’s legs.  “Possible. But I wouldn’t know, would I, big brother?” 

Bill shuddered as he finally released the ring and dropped it to the bed.  He pulled his wand out and begun mending the damage before he replied, “I’d also daresay someone planted those drugs in Percy’s trunk.  I feel like someone else didn’t want to get caught with them.” 

Charlie licked his lips, and his body gave a quiver of excitement.  “You’re smart, big brother. You’ve put more thought into this than the teachers have.”

The oldest of the three sat on the edge of the mattress.  He pulled George onto his lap, positioning him as best he could to avoid causing him any pain, and once he had wrapped his arms tight around his brother and hugged him securely in his strong arms, he dropped his chin into George’s hair and muttered, “I’m only here to check on George; I’ve been too busy to come out.” 

Charlie froze.  His eyes narrowed.  “Too busy… You took that  _ fucking  _ job?!” 

“Of course I did, Charlie.” Bill hugged George tighter.  “They’re talking about sending me to Egypt.” 

Charlie could have howled in despair as he felt panic arise in his chest.  The thought that Bill was leaving him forced him into a ball as he begun to hyperventilate, and all he could think about was his brother abandoning him.  He almost thought that tears were filling his eyes, but if they were, they didn’t fall. It could have been that they didn’t have the chance to do so because within seconds he had been scooped up into warm arms he knew so well and lips crushed against his, kissing him senseless until he finally stopped hyperventilating.  He saw that George had been pushed to the side, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything over that; instead, all he could do was curl his fingers tightly into his big brother’s jacket and hold on for dear life as he hiccupped. 

“Charlie…” Bill didn’t know what to say.  He looked to George at his side to make sure the younger was okay, and with the twin curled in tightly against his side and Charlie on his lap now instead, he felt lost.  He had news to pass on, but did he do it with Charlie in this condition? But would he get another chance like this to talk to his little brother and explain things and  _ give him time to process it all  _ if he were to keep silent today?  “Charlie, I’m moving out of home.” 

A loud sob answered him.  “…” 

“I decided I needed to do this… because Fred and Percy need somewhere to stay, too…” Bill sighed.  “Mum and dad had Fred admitted into St. Mungo’s. If they ever let him back out, mum and dad won’t let him in the house.  And Percy… needs someone to look after him for now. Our parents can’t give him that; they believe it was him giving the twins that stuff, and Percy… just needs love…” 

“Well, what about  _ me,  _ Bill?  What about  _ me  _ needing love?!”  It wasn’t Charlie’s meticulous planning coming out of his mouth now; it was the closest thing to unadulterated emotion Bill could ever remember him displaying.  “Don’t  _ leave  _ me, Bill!  You  _ can’t _ !” 

“Hey, shh…” Bill embraced Charlie tighter than he had in  _ years _ .  “Shh…  Charlie…  Charlie, I’m not  _ leaving  _ you; I’m just…  Charlie… You’re my brother, and I love you very much, but I need to follow my own path…” 

“No, you’re  _ not _ !” Charlie’s scream had been so loud, he felt the back of his throat twinge in irritation.  “I won’t  _ let  _ you!”  

Even if Bill hadn’t forgotten that he was in Hogwarts, with dozens of students easily with earshot, he may have kept a lid on his temper – but instead, all he could do was take Charlie by the shoulders and shake him as he yelled, “Charlie!  You  _ don’t  _ understand!  I  _ need  _ to be  _ away  _ from you!  I  _ love  _ you, Charlie, but with everything that’s happened, I need to get  _ away _ !  I’ve been covering for you for  _ so long,  _ Charlie, and it’s  _ exhausting _ !  You’re wearing me thin!”

“How can you want to be away from me when you  _ love  _ me, Bill?!” It was when Charlie’s fist struck Bill’s face did the oldest brother finally have a gutful.  He struck again, this time his sharp nails clawing Bill’s face and drawing blood, but before he could scream anything else, his brother had grabbed his wrist so tightly, he thought his wrist was about to be snapped in half.  “Let go of me, Bill! Let go!” 

“As you wish, Charlie.” 

Charlie was floored by how easily Bill then stood up and reached out to take George into his strong arms.  His mouth was agape, and his eyes almost bulged in their sockets as he tried to process the other’s words; how… had this happened?  Never before had Bill ever done anything like this before, and he didn’t know what to think. It was because he hadn’t been focusing enough on manipulating and instead had allowed his stress to control  _ him _ …  “Bill…”

Bill shook his head.  He walked towards the door, and over his shoulder, he called, “I  _ do  _ love you, Charlie… but you’ve gone  _ too  _ far now.” 

All Charlie could do was watch his brother’s retreating back disappear around the corner in stunned silence, and then, once it had all hit him… he  _ cried _ .  

 

* * *

 

It being so early in the morning, it was easy for Bill to carry George from the Gryffindor Tower and take him outside to a spot by the lake he had once enjoyed spending his time in when he had been a student as well.  Not a word was spoken between them until they were surrounded by the comfort of the trees and bushes that, while hiding them from everyone else’s view, still gave them a stunning view of the lake, lit up by the rays of the rising sun.  

Bill shrugged his jacket off and laid it down on the grass wet with dew before he made George comfortable on it while he sat beside his brother, holding his hand tightly.  He stroked his hand lovingly through dirty red hair as he sighed and whispered, “Are you still sore down there, George?” 

George nodded.  He stared at his lap as his body quivered, even though he knew he was safe; Bill would never hurt him.  …He hoped… “…”

Bill raised his hand to his mouth so he could chew at his thumb in concern; if George had been wearing that ring all night, then…  His brother was  _ really  _ going to need medical attention immediately. 

…But if he did that, then Charlie would…

Tears filled his eyes, and as hard as he tried to blink them away, they still fell as his chewing intensified to the point he could taste blood on his tongue.  His sobs were heavy as his shoulders shook with the force of them, and the more he tried to decide what to do, the harder they came until he was howling in despair with George in his arms. 

“Oh, George, I’m so sorry…!” Bill’s tears made George’s night shirt wet, but he couldn’t care about that; there were more important matters at hand.  “I… I’ve let this all happen…! I’m a terrible brother and I’m so sorry…!” 

George, just as he had for several years, didn’t make a sound.  He sat there, unmoving in the stronger male’s arms, almost too scared to so much as twitch lest it earn him a punch in the head as punishment.  “…”

“Please, don’t hate Charlie for this…!” Bill didn’t know why he was making more excuses for Charlie; he knew he needed to  _ finally  _ put an end to it all, but instead…  “ _ Please,  _ George!  It isn’t Charlie’s fault!  It’s  _ my  _ fault because I let him get away with so much!  I should have told mum  _ years  _ ago and I  _ didn’t _ !”

He could still tell his mother, he knew.  It wasn’t too late, he reminded himself. …But if he told Molly everything  _ now,  _ then Charlie…  

No, he couldn’t just tell her everything; it  _ was  _ too late.  He had failed Charlie.  He had failed his  _ siblings _ .  He’d allowed this to happen, over and over and  _ over again _ until it had happened so much, there would be  _ no  _ recovering – perhaps for any of them.  He’d tried his hardest; he’d tried to be the big brother and take care of everyone, but he’d let them all down.  He’d ruined all their lives. And Charlie…

He had allowed Charlie – his precious,  _ precious  _ Charlie – to slip so deep into insanity, he would probably need to be kept in St. Mungo’s as a mental patient for the rest of his life.

“George…!” Bill’s fingers curled into his brother’s shoulders as he choked on his own cries.  “Please… Please, you  _ can’t  _ tell  _ anyone _ !  I know…  I  _ know  _ what he’s doing to you, George…  I know how much it  _ hurts _ …!  But, please…  Please, George…  It isn’t his fault…  He doesn’t deserve what’ll happen to him if anyone knows…  Please, George, I’m  _ begging  _ you…” 

George  _ wanted  _ to tell.  He’d wanted to tell someone for as long as he could remember, but he could still recall, all those years ago when he still spoke, he and Fred, trying to tell Molly that Charlie had been in their room the night previous, hurting them horribly.  Molly had shaken her head at them, scowling in disapproval as she told them they’d been dreaming because Charlie was too  _ perfect  _ to hurt a  _ fly _ .  

He still wondered if maybe she’d have listened to them had she checked their bodies over the blood and bruises that had still been present in that moment – but then again, she would have blamed it all on Fred, just as she had taken to doing because  _ Charlie  _ certainly wasn’t capable of hurting any of his siblings. 

That was right…  Fred had been the abusive one, the brother that had caused irreversible damage to each and every one of his siblings because Charlie knew it was easy to get away with things if he had a scapegoat… 

“ _ Please,  _ George…   _ Don’t  _ tell…” 

Finally, George moved.  He pulled himself onto his brother’s lap and curled into him like a kitten seeking its mother’s warmth.  He rocked himself as he had taken to doing lately as he nodded in response; he just didn’t have the mental or emotional energy to make people  _ see  _ that he had been  _ trying  _ to tell them all the  _ truth _ for so long.  

“Please don’t hate him…” Bill didn’t know why he was pleading so hard; if  _ any  _ of his siblings didn’t hate Charlie  _ now,  _ they were definitely going to in the future…  “He doesn’t deserve hate… He’s really such a good person, George…  He just… He… He…” 

How did Bill justify his own words?  Charlie was the furthest thing from a semi-decent human being, so why was he trying to convince others of such a lie?  Or was it… he was trying to convince  _ himself _ …?  

“…He’s not as bad as he seems…” Bill whispered.  “He just… has  _ problems _ …  Just don’t hate him, George…  Never hate him…” 

Somehow, Bill was sure George was never going to believe him right now.  


	7. Chapter 7

“Percy, mum will be here shortly.” 

Despite the fact that his oldest brother had knocked on his open bedroom door before speaking, he’d still jumped a foot into the air.  He’d hoped that having finally been away from Charlie would be enough to calm his nerves and stop him from being startled over the slightest things, but it had been over two years, and he was  _ still  _ a nervous wreck.  

Percy slid his glasses further up his nose as he turned his attention away from the book he had been reading to instead look at Bill and give him his usual stoic expression that had been perfected to hide the depression and anxiety Percy  _ really  _ felt deep inside.  “When will she be here?” 

Bill checked his wristwatch.  “In an hour. Can you tidy up downstairs for me when you’ve finished your book?  I’ll make a start on dinner.” 

The younger male nodded.  “I’ll be downstairs soon.” 

Bill smiled, but he knew he wouldn’t get one in return; as hard as he’d tried to shower Percy in love since letting his brother move in with him, it hadn’t gotten him many results.  Sure, the younger was less on edge and was finally talking a bit more, his emotions were still all over the place; bitter, angry and  _ lonely _ .  

Bill was willing to work on it for as long as they needed, but for now, he needed to get dinner out of the way.  He heard Percy coming down the stairs perhaps fifteen minutes later by the time Bill had gathered all the ingredients he’d need, and as he cut his onions up carefully, he wondered why Molly was coming for dinner; he had been sure she’d want to spend the next week at the Burrow since Hogwarts had just finished that same day and she’d always spent as much time with her children as possible every year they came home.  

Maybe she just missed Bill and Percy?  It was plausible; they still owled each other, but they hadn’t spoken in person for quite a while.  Maybe it was even the fact that Bill was in the middle of packing up their home so he could get ready to move to Egypt for work and she wanted to see him and Percy before they left.  

Well, whatever the reason, she looked as happy as ever once she had arrived on the doorstep and wrapped her arms tightly around her two children, kissing their cheeks and gushing about how much she had missed them. 

Their siblings were with her, something Bill was overjoyed about as he hadn’t seen them for so long – but there was something about the look in Charlie’s eyes that put him on guard; he knew that look, and Charlie was planning something… 

“Look at the three of you!” Bill got on his knees as he engulfed Ginny and Ron in a bear hug.  He squeezed them tight before he turned his attention to George, the poor little thing hiding behind Molly with one hand held tightly in hers and the thumb of his other hand in his mouth as he sucked like his life depended on it.  “All three of you have grown so much since I last saw you! Are you guys hungry? Dinner is almost ready. Percy, can you please go and stir it for me?” 

Arthur wasn’t with them.  Bill wasn’t alarmed; he had been working overtime recently, and if something had happened, Molly would have let him know.  

But Charlie…  Charlie held a sneer on his face, and Bill had a feeling it was because he’d paid more attention to the three youngest than he had to Charlie.  

“Charlie, how was your last year of school?” Bill was as warm as ever, opening his arms for a hug, and as expected, Charlie accepted it.  “How did you do?” 

“I did great.” Finally, Charlie’s expression relaxed, and he gave his big brother a grin.  “How far off is dinner? I’m  _ starving _ .” 

“Percy should be dishing up in a few moments.  Go and sit down at the table; I’ll help him bring it all over.” 

Dinner was served within minutes, and chatter was quick to fill the room.  Charlie spoke about how well he’d done in school and ideas he had for what field of work he wanted to get into.  Molly updated them all on how she and Arthur had been doing with their two youngest siblings and happenings with the Ministry.  Percy said nothing at all, even if he was addressed, and Ron and Ginny paid more attention to whatever game they were playing together with their legs under the table as they giggled happily.  Bill had just started talking about Egypt when he noticed George, looking sadder and lonelier than he had ever seen him. 

“Mum, how’s Fred?” Bill’s eyes never left George, and he frowned at the way the twin suddenly perked up at the name as a look of hope briefly crossed his face; did George want his twin back?  

It was Molly’s turn to frown.  “He’s… not making much progress…  They say he’s gotten worse…” 

Bill swallowed.  He had a feeling that was because Fred had been institutionalized for things he hadn’t even  _ done _ .  Charlie had molded him into the perfect little scapegoat, and yes, Fred  _ did  _ need professional help – they  _ all  _ did because of Charlie – but being institutionalized was  _ not  _ what was needed.  “…Maybe you should look into finally letting him come home, mum; he might not be doing so well there because he needs family…”

Molly looked pained.  She changed the subject.  “What about Egypt, honey? When are you and Percy leaving?” 

“Next week, we think.” Bill toyed with his cutlery.  “We’ve got our new house and everything organized already; we just need to finish packing here.” 

“Oh, sweetheart, Charlie asked me today if he could come and live with you.” Molly looked between her two eldest children with a bright smile.  “Surely that won’t be any problem.” 

But apparently it was, because Percy had thrown his cutlery onto his plate and stood up so fast, he rocked the table.  “If he comes with us, I’m moving back into home and finishing Hogwarts.” And with that, he’d stormed upstairs to his bedroom where they all heard the door slam closed.

All eyes turned to Bill now, and Bill felt sick.  He rubbed the back of his head. “He, uh… He’s had a bad day…  I’ll talk to him about it… But Charlie, I… I mean, I’d love for you to come live with us, but I don’t think we have the room; there’s only two bedrooms and –“

“-But if Perce moves back into the Burrow, it’ll be fine, right?” That look on Charlie’s face that Bill hated so much was back, like he was smirking out his superiority or something.  “Please, big brother? I think it’ll be really cool if I can get a job around there, too – get a bit of experience in something completely different, you know?” 

Bill wanted to say no.  To rant and yell and scream about how he wanted Charlie to stay away from him.  

So why was it he’d nodded and said, “Sure, Char.  We’ll see what happens with Perce, yeah?” 

Charlie grinned.  “Thanks, big brother!” 

Bill gave a stiff nod before he picked his cup up and gave it a subtle sniff; had he been drugged again…?  He wouldn’t put it past the other… 

 

* * *

 

“Bill, can I stay the night?” 

Bill flinched violently at the question.  He could recognize the way Charlie was trying so hard to make himself sound like such an innocent child, but now that the younger was eighteen, it only made Bill cringe.  He looked down at the dishes in his hands that he had been scrubbing while Molly ran amok upstairs, looking for the slightest bit of dust to give her an excuse to clean the whole house.  

“Charlie…” Bill looked at the doorway that separated the kitchen from the living room.  He could hear his siblings in there, playing amongst themselves happily, and he sighed; if this was what he had to do to protect them…  “Of course you can, Charlie. Would you mind sleeping on the couch? We don’t have another room for you.” 

Charlie rocked back and forth on his heels as he shook his head.  “No, Bill; no couch, okay? I’ll sleep with my big brother like we used to~” 

Again, Bill flinched.  He put the plates down in the sink so he could take a few steps away from his brother.  He shook his head. “Charlie… What we used to do is _ over _ .  It was so  _ wrong _ of us to do that, and you  _ know  _ it.  I have to put my foot down now; what we used to do no longer exists.” 

A one brief second, anger flashed over Charlie’s face, but it was quickly masked by a look of serenity Bill knew was fake.  The younger was so eerily calm as he replied, Bill felt his skin crawl. “If you say so, big brother~ I still want to sleep in your bed with you, though~”

“Charlie, I –“

“-If you don’t want me sleeping with you, I’m sure  _ Percy  _ won’t mind the company.” Charlie’s eyes glinted, and Bill knew it only meant trouble.  

The stronger male felt like crying.  He swallowed past the lump in his throat as he finally nodded.  “Alright. You can sleep with me. But… But none of  _ that _ .  Only sleep.” 

It was something to be greatly worried about when Charlie didn’t argue; it meant that, some time soon, things were going to get dangerous.  For now, though, Bill gently excused himself into the living room, hoping that Charlie wasn’t going to follow – but of course he did, and his mere presence was enough for the entire room to freeze.  

“Umm…” Bill looked over his shoulder to make sure Molly wasn’t anywhere near before he cleared his throat and announced, “Charlie’s going to stay the night here, so you guys can have a nice sleep tonight…” 

Charlie laughed at the look of relief that crossed his three youngest siblings’ faces; it must have been the best news of their life to know that they could finally have a night they were able to relax.  It was a shame Percy was still locked away in his bedroom; he’d love to have seen the other’s reaction, but that was okay; this was enough for him. 

“Bill…?” Ginny, still so young, had sidled away from where she had been play wrestling with Ron so she could tug at her oldest brother’s sleeve.  She gave Charlie a nervous look before she whispered, “Charlie wants to hurt you…”

Bill wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case, but he didn’t think too much on his sister’s warning; they were all so used to Charlie’s abuse, they instinctively believed Bill was going to cop it, too.  He gave a reassuring smile. “It’ll be okay, Gin. Go back to playing. Let George play with you, too; he looks very lonely over there.” 

Ginny looked over to where the twin was on the couch, his knees drawn up to his chest as he hugged them tight and rested his chin against his kneecap, rocking.  She frowned. She  _ did  _ love George, but it seemed that every time she and Ron approached him to ask him to play with them, he’d wet himself.  She didn’t understand why he was so afraid of them; they’d never done anything to hurt him – but then, she supposed, maybe he was scared like  _ they  _ were, but on a whole new level.  

She looked back to her big brother.  “George is scared of us, Bill…”

“Oh, poor baby…” Bill wanted so badly to take George into his arms and hold him forever, but he couldn’t – especially not while Charlie was around to witness as it would only encourage him.  

“Charlie hurts him worse than me and Ron…” Ginny glanced at Charlie again, ready to run back to Ron if he so much as put a foot towards her.  “Charlie ignores us most of the time… He hurts George more…” 

Bill could only imagine Ron and Ginny were too young to  _ really  _ grab Charlie’s interest – and he was thankful for that; they might still be salvageable if he could get Charlie away from them…  “Gin, go play with Ron. Okay?” 

There wasn’t any time to argue; Molly’s footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, and her voice echoed through the house as she called out. “Not a single spec of dust, Bill!  A shame you couldn’t keep your  _ room  _ this clean!” 

Bill, with his patience that could only belong to a saint, smiled as his mother finally appeared before him.  “Perce and I gave the house a good clean earlier today, but thank you for looking anyway, mum. Charlie’s going to stay the night here with me; is that okay?”

Molly looked overjoyed as she nodded.  “Of course it is, honey! He must have missed you; he’s always been closest to you, after all.  It’s a shame Fred couldn’t take a page out of your book and have the same relationship with his siblings as you and Charlie have, Bill; you two were always best friends.” 

“Fred  _ does  _ love George, mum,” Bill explained.  “I’ve  _ seen  _ it.  He genuinely loves George.  He just… doesn’t know how to express it.” 

That same pained expression from before crossed Molly’s face.  She nodded before she turned around to face her three youngest and clap her hands together.  “Alright, is everyone ready? It’s getting late; you should all be in bed by now. Come on!” 

Ron and Ginny came easily enough, but it took a bit more coaxing on George’s end until he could come close to where Charlie was standing; Bill had had to approach him and hold his hand as he walked him slowly to their mother so Molly could sigh and scold him and remind him that he was thirteen now and not five as she reached out to hold his hand tightly anyway.  

“I’ll walk you to the door,” Bill promised.  He picked Ron and Ginny up and held them tight as he carried them to the front door so they could say goodbye.  He heard Charlie skulking around the living room, seemingly not interested in any farewells, and it made him relax; this would be much easier now.  

“Goodnight, guys.” With a kiss each to Ron and Ginny’s foreheads, Bill put them back on his feet.  He then got down slowly onto his knees so he could reach for George and lean in carefully to give him a kiss goodbye, too.  “Goodnight, George. I love you.” 

George tensed more than he already was before he hid behind Molly again, his small fingers clutching the back of her coat to secure himself mentally.  Bill frowned, but he said nothing about it; he instead only sat up to hug his mother goodbye. 

“Bye, sweetheart.” As usual, Molly’s grip was bone crushing.  “Make sure you write to me and tell me how you’re going in Egypt!” 

“Yeah, of course.” Bill pulled away from the embrace.  “Bye, mum.”

It didn’t take long for Bill to close the door and be standing in front of Charlie with a frown on his face.  His frown only grew at the sly smirk he received in return.

“About time she left,” Charlie said.  “Was starting to think she was going to set up camp here or something.”

“Why’d you want to stay here tonight?” Bill’s tone was bitter, and it only made Charlie’s smirk widen.  “You finally get bored of terrorizing those poor babies?” 

A snort escaped the younger’s throat.  “Babies? Those are no ‘babies’, Bill. You’re too soft.  You should loosen up. Maybe have a day with me ‘terrorising’ them, as you so put it.”

“I would never –“

“-You would…” Charlie stalked closer until he was stepping circles around his brother, his eyes sizing him up like a lion would prey, “…if you were ever given the opportunity…  What would you say, big brother? If I told you that with me, you  _ do  _ have that opportunity.  You’d like it… You just… need to be shown that…” 

Bill jumped away at the touch of fingertips against the back of his hand.  His lips twisted into a growl, but Charlie knew it was all bark and no bite.  “I wouldn’t, Charlie. They are our  _ siblings,  _ and I  _ love  _ them.” 

“I love them, too, big brother…” Charlie’s tone had dropped to a low, predatory murmur, and Bill felt as if he were in danger.  “I just… I love them in  _ different  _ ways…  I love to  _ hurt  _ them…  To make them cry…  It’s different with you, though, big brother…  I only  _ like  _ seeing you cry…  I  _ like  _ hurting you…  I like  _ you _ .” 

Bill closed his eyes.  He’d encountered a word for people like Charlie in the past year in his dealings with Muggles, a word called  _ psychopath _ , and though he didn’t know if that indeed was what his brother was, it gave him comfort to at least have an  _ idea  _ of what was wrong with his brother.  “…Charlie…”

Charlie had stopped behind Bill now, and against all his better judgement, Bill didn’t turn around.  He tensed when strong arms wrapped around him and a warm body pressed against his back, but still, he kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut, as if it were all a nightmare he could break himself out of if he just. Tried.  _ Harder _ . 

“Big brother…” Charlie’s hot breath sent shudders down the older male’s spine, and when calloused fingers rubbed against his chest through his shirt, the older male whimpered in distress.  “I like you so much, you can’t be away from me. I need to stay with you, forever and ever. If you ever try and run away from me… You won’t like what  _ happens _ .” 

“…”

“You’ll let me be with you, won’t you, big brother?  You’ll love me and take care of me and all my needs. You’ll fuck me, hard and rough and angrily – fuck me until I bleed around your thick cock.  You’ll let me take your dick so far into my mouth, I’ll choke around it as it hits the back of my throat while you fuck my face hard and fast. You’ll love me while I merely keep you close by, liking you…  Hurting you…  _ Breaking  _ you.  But you’ll like it, big brother.  You’ll  _ love  _ it.  You’ll  _ beg  _ me for it.”

Bill shuddered as he felt the side of his shirt being lifted so rough fingers could caress the long-since faded scar in the shape of a crooked C he had tried  _ so  _ hard to mend but never had been able to completely heal over.  

“Why?” Charlie’s chin rested on Bill’s shoulder.  He smiled. “Because you’re  _ mine _ .” 


	8. Chapter 8

Bill should have known better than to think he would be able to get away from Charlie; two months later, the younger was living in his home in Egypt, breathing down his neck every five seconds.  

“Charlie, I  _ told  _ you; it was only a couple of drinks with some mates from work!” Bill threw his hands in the air as he tried his damned hardest to keep himself from yelling, but when he was being interrogated several times daily, even  _ he  _ was at breaking point.  “I told you this last night!  It was for a colleague’s birthday!” 

Charlie’s eyes were narrowed.  “I don’t believe you. Who were you out fucking, huh?  Some pretty whore from the street corner? She got big tits, Bill?  You  _ promised  _ me you wouldn’t  _ touch  _ anyone else unless  _ I  _ said it was okay – and I  _ haven’t  _ said you can go fucking around with random sluts, have I?!” 

Bill was sure he was ready to cry.  His emotions were all over the place lately, and though he had never really been one for tears, Charlie was quickly getting him there.  “Charlie, just – just let me go to bed; I’m tired…” 

Charlie followed him through the house and into their bedroom.  He watched with eagle eyes the way his brother undressed, searching him for the slightest suggestion of another’s touch.  He remembered every bruise, every  _ wound  _ he had inflicted onto such beautiful, freckled skin, and he’d know the second there was a mark there that wasn’t his.  

He snatched away the shirt that had just been dropped onto the floor, and he raised it to his face to inhale the scents wafting from it.  Only alcohol, with a hint of cigarette smoke in the fabric. That was normal. The jacket smelled much the same, but this time marijuana smoke could be smelled.  Perfectly normal 

It was his pants that were different.  A stain on the thigh that didn’t belong.  He growled loudly as he sniffed as hard as he could to try and get an idea of what it could be.  Semen? It didn’t hold quite the right colouring to it. Lubricant? Possibly, but there was a different scent to it.  

“Bill…” Charlie’s tone could have made God himself cower, but by now, Bill was unfazed; he only turned around, with his nightshirt half pulled over his head and an expression so exhausted, he looked thirty years older.  The younger shoved the pants into Bill’s eyesight. “What is  _ this _ ?!” 

“Glue.” Bill’s reply came instantly.  “Some of the treasure I find doesn’t mend properly with spells, so I use glue.  Now, goodnight, Charlie.” 

Charlie was like an inferno as he threw himself at the bed Bill was trying to slip into.  He grabbed the back of the older male’s shirt and ripped him away from it, slamming him against the wall as he leant up and pressed their noses together.  His eyes were wild as he snarled, “Did I  _ say  _ you could go to bed, Bill?” 

“No, you didn’t.” Bill was  _ far  _ too calm for the situation, but that was what Charlie liked about him; he loved the challenge, the  _ hunt  _ to make Bill afraid.  “ _ I  _ said I was going to bed.  Goodnight.” 

“You can go to bed once you’ve fucked my brains out.” Charlie’s calloused hand slipped down to the front of the other’s boxers.  He groped aggressively, his eyes trained on his brother’s face to search for the slightest hint of pleasure, and when he found it, he grinned.  His voice softened. “That’s it… Get hard for me, Bill. I’ve been waiting all day for this.” 

Bill’s eyes closed in defeat.  There was no point trying to resist; he could kick up as much fuss as he wanted and Charlie would  _ still  _ get what he was after in the end, whether it be consensual or not.  It was easier just getting it over and done with; the sooner it started, the sooner it would finish and he could finally sleep.  

Charlie lowered himself down to his knees so he could pull his brother’s boxers down.  He licked at the tip as he wrapped his hand around the base, squeezing tighter than he knew Bill could comfortably enjoy, and with that, he begun stroking.  From above him, Bill let out a groan; he was too tired for this, but if he could at least just get hard, Charlie could handle the rest…

“You’re such a whore, big brother.” 

He  _ had  _ to open his fucking mouth, didn’t he?  Bill groaned again, this time in annoyance as he felt what tiny bit of arousal he had disappearing.  “I am not.” 

“You are.” Charlie’s grin widened as his hand moved faster to pump Bill in a quick manner.  “You’re a slut. You let me do this to you every day and night; you try and say no but I know you just like to put up a fight because it makes you as horny as it does for me.  You’d even let me fuck  _ you  _ if I asked, you like my cock so much, big brother.”

Bill shook his head; oh,  _ please  _ don’t ask to put it inside  _ him _ ; this was bad enough…!  He didn’t even know if he  _ liked  _ men or it was everything that Charlie had done to him in the past that had allowed this to happen – and if he was  _ still  _ being drugged, he had no idea, but he wouldn’t put it past the smaller male to be contaminating everything with potion whenever he wasn’t home… 

“ _ Don’t  _ you, big brother?” There was a warning in Charlie’s growl, and Bill had learnt from experience that if he didn’t reply, he was going to regret it – the scar on the inside of his thigh was a lesson of that.  

“…Yes…” Bill felt so dirty, but not as dirty as when Charlie unzipped his own pants and kicked them off somewhere behind him to reveal his own arousal, long and hard and  _ wanting _ .  

“Say it again, but with more passion.” Charlie had lowered his hand to himself, working them both at the same time.  

“…Yes…” Bill resented them both as he forced himself to continue on.  “…I love your… cock… I love it, Charlie…” 

Charlie seemed pleased enough with the response as he licked along the underside of his brother’s arousal in reward.  “You’re so delicious; I could eat you up right here, Bill.” 

Bill let out a shuddery breath as he was suddenly engulfed in wet heat.  His hands shot out to grip Charlie’s hair as his hips bucked forward instinctively into the other’s mouth, and this was what he hated most; Charlie knew  _ exactly  _ how to use his mouth and make the older male forget everything except what was happening in this moment.  

“Oh, fuck…” Bill’s breath was shaky as his hips continued to buck, already having arrived at some sort of rhythm as Charlie bobbed his head back and forth for maximum thrusting force.  “C-charlie…” 

Charlie’s hands slowly slid from his brother’s hips and around to cup the stronger male’s ass.  He squeezed the globes a few times before he slid his right hand even further so he could rub his index finger along the tight, puckering hole that, to the best of his knowledge, remained untouched.  

Bill stuttered out a gasp before he tried to pull away from the touch, unintentionally shoving himself so far down the younger’s throat, Charlie was choking dangerously at the unexpected intrusion.  “C-charlie, d-don’t…!” 

Charlie recovered quickly, and Bill couldn’t believe his eyes to see that it had only turned the other on even further.  He licked his saliva-soaked lips as his eyes glinted dangerously. “Why, Bill? You’d like it if I fingered you; I’m sure.” 

“ _ No,  _ Charlie; I’m not into that!” Any further protest he had planned quickly evaded his mind when soft lips wrapped around his cock once again while he was maneuvered over to the bed.  His legs hit the edge and he fell onto his back, Charlie still kneeling between his legs as he sucked and licked and  _ nibbled _ .  

“Oh, Charlie…” Bill let out one long groan as he draped his arm over his eyes.  “Feels… so good…” 

Charlie finally pulled his mouth away for good so he could grin down at his brother, with a thick string of saliva still connecting his lips with the other’s dick.  “Are you still tired, Bill?” 

Bill nodded.  It was true; his eyelids were heavy, and if his mind wasn’t buzzing with arousal, he was sure he could fall asleep where he lay.  “So tired…” 

Charlie licked his lips.  His hands were deceivingly gentle as they reached out to cup Bill’s cheeks as he leant in for a deep kiss.  When they broke apart, he whispered, “After this, you’re going to fall right asleep, big brother…” 

It all happened so fast, Bill let a loud cry of pleasure escape his lips as an incredible tightness surrounded his cock.  His now-wide eyes stared up at Charlie, who had impaled himself, dry and unprepared, and wore a look of deep pain on his face.  Bill could never understand why he did it, but it happened so often, he no longer questioned it. 

“Oh, fuck…” Charlie winced as he felt blood dribbling down his backside and onto the bedsheets beneath them.  He didn’t care; a quick spell or two in the morning would fix everything. He didn’t want to adjust to the size; he instead started thrusting himself up down and down, feeling Bill’s hips arching to meet his every movement.  “Bill…” 

Bill was too breathless to speak.  Sweat dripped down his face as he grit his teeth, but the position didn’t last very long; soon enough, Charlie had flipped them over so he was on all fours and the older male was behind him, ramming away inside his bloodied entrance like a rabid dog.

The thrusts were painful, but Charlie didn’t care; he found the pain to be pleasurable.  The force of Bill’s thrusts slammed their bed violently against the wall, and the loud, repetitive sounds were like music to his ears; he was being treated so violently, and all that was missing was…

“Hurt me, Bill…” Charlie hissed.  “Do it…” 

Bill didn’t need to be told twice; he grabbed his brother’s hair and pulled as hard as he could before he leant over the other’s sun-tanned skin and sank his teeth into Charlie’s shoulder, leaving another bloodied bite amongst the war-field of bruises that were still trying to fade. 

“More…” Charlie moaned loudly as he reached beneath him to tug at himself in time with the thrusts.  His eyes closed. “More, Bill… I need more…” 

It was something Bill could do now but would hate himself for later.  He wrapped both his hands around the other’s neck and squeezed, cutting off Charlie’s air supply as he rammed the younger’s head as hard as he could into the headboard.  He didn’t relent; he only continued the assault until he felt the tell-tale tightening around his cock and he caught sight of the splashes of semen beneath them. He grunted loudly as he emptied himself into the warm body, and once he was done, he collapsed onto the mattress and was out like a light. 

Charlie, still trying to catch his breath, smirked.  Once he could breathe again, he reached across to rummage through the bedside drawers so he could get his lighter and a joint.  He lit it up and put it to his lips to inhale deeply as he used his other hand to splay lazily through Bill’s long hair. 

“Oh, Bill, Bill, Bill…” Charlie smirked as he twirled soft strands around his index finger.  He moved closer so he could lay down and press his side into the other’s warm, sweaty back. “You’re a smart boy; how haven’t you figured it out yet?” 

Charlie held the joint between his lips so he could move his hand under his pillow and pull out the small vial he had hidden beneath it.  He laughed as he shook it gently. Bill may have stopped taking any and all edible and/or drinkable items from him and had become far more cautious about what he ingested, but really…

How had Bill not considered other options?  Like… The way Charlie was now uncapping the vial and turning Bill’s head slightly so he could pour the contents down his throat while he was passed out?  

Charlie’s laughter had become maniacal; Bill was smart, but Charlie was even smarter.     


	9. Chapter 9

Bill loved his job.  Taking it had been the best thing he’d ever done.  He got out of the house most days of the week, and he got to socialize with  _ normal  _ people who weren’t bat-shit crazy.  He got to explore deep recesses most people he knew would never see in their lifetime, but most of all, it got him away from  _ Charlie _ .  

That was why he had come to  _ hate  _ stepping through his front door after he’d finished work.  

“Charlie?” Bill was wary at the way his brother hadn’t been at the door already, waiting impatiently to inspect him and demand to know where he’d been.  His shoulders slumped at the idea that the younger was probably fucking another stranger in their bed again, or out at a brothel or – just… anywhere without  _ him _ …  “Charlie, are you home?” 

Finally, footsteps sounded as someone came out of the living room.  It was Charlie, and the look on his face spelt disaster. The way he sounded so excited set alarm bells ringing in Bill’s head, and he braced himself for the worst.  “You’re finally home, big brother!” 

“Have you been smoking…?” Bill reached out to pull the smaller male closer to him.  It was strange; there was so sign at all that the other had taken even the smallest amount of drugs – so why was he so happy?  “What are you smiling about…?” 

An unnatural giggle escaped Charlie’s throat.  “Come see what I got for you, big brother~ Come see~” 

Bill didn’t want to move.  He wanted to turn around and  _ run _ because whatever was awaiting him was nothing good.  But instead, his feet followed the younger’s until he was standing in the middle of the living room, unable to believe his eyes.  He turned around and grabbed the front of Charlie’s shirt to pull him close and hiss, “What are they  _ doing  _ here, Charlie…?” 

Charlie shrugged.  His grin widened. “I asked mum if we could keep Fred, and she said yes.  And so  _ naturally,  _ I asked if I could bring George for visitation purposes.  It took a lot of coaxing, but I convinced her to say yes. I tried getting Percy over, too, but he threw a knife at me when he saw me.  Can you  _ believe  _ that?  He’s fucking  _ insane,  _ Bill.  I was gonna get Ron and Ginny, too, but mum said not while Fred’s around.” 

Bill raised his hand to cover his mouth as he stared at the twins on his couch, one looking impossibly happy as he held the other in a crushing embrace, and the other looking as if he were ready to drop dead on the spot.  He looked back to Charlie. “What did you  _ do  _ to them, Charlie…?” 

“Nothing~” Charlie was telling the truth.  “I wanted to leave that until you got home~”

Bill grabbed the hand that was trailing along the inside of his thigh.  He shook his head. “ _ Don’t  _ you  _ dare _ .  You send them home  _ this instant,  _ Charlie!”

Charlie forced the fake tears to his eyes as he sniffled.  He skulked to the couch so he could sit next to George and pull him onto his lap to hold him tight.  He stuck his bottom lip out and made sure his voice quivered as he murmured, “Y-you don’t  _ trust  _ m-me with them, Bill…?” 

Whatever strength Bill had had in that moment was gone now.  He knew Charlie was putting on an act, and that this was  _ exactly  _ the reaction he had been wanting, but he couldn’t help it; he didn’t want to see Charlie upset.  He tensed, and from where he stood, he started pacing as he pulled at his hair in distress. He needed to stay strong and take control of the situation, but Charlie had had _ years  _ of practice…  

“Charlie…  Please, don’t cry…” 

Charlie’s hand patted George’s shoulder as he made his tears come harder.  “You think I’m a horrible person, don’t you, Bill…? You  _ hate  _ me is what it is!”

“No, Charlie, I don’t hate you!” Clumps of hair was in his hand now, and Bill could feel a thick lump forming in his throat.  What did he do? He couldn’t control Charlie, but if he didn’t  _ try,  _ those poor twins…  “I just… I…”

“I don’t want to hurt them, Bill…!” Charlie was wailing now.  “Honest I don’t! I didn’t do anything to them and already you think I want to hurt them…!  You’re treating me like I’m a  _ monster _ …!” 

Bill could have banged his head against the wall, he was so distressed.  He tried to get the strength to return to force Charlie to send the twins home, but in the end, Charlie won.  He’d sighed, and as he stood there, with tears of built up stress rolling down his cheeks, all he could do was whisper, “Don’t you lay a  _ finger  _ on them, Charlie…” 

As expected, the tears immediately stopped, and Charlie was grinning.  He slowly slid his hand down George’s chest, caressing, but he didn’t do anything further; he only hugged the quivering body tighter to him.  He kissed the younger twin’s temple before he murmured in a deceivingly gentle manner, “I love you, George~ I’d never do anything to hurt you~” 

Bill turned around to storm to their bedroom to be alone.  He slammed the door shut behind him as he threw himself down onto the bed, needing to be alone so he could cry.  He couldn’t cry alone for long, though; slowly, his door was pushed open and Fred poked his head inside. He forced his tears to stop.  “Fred..?” 

Fred stepped in and shut the door gently behind him.  He stood where he was, and with all the childish innocence that he was, he cocked his head to the side and whispered, “Why do you treat Charlie so mean, Bill?” 

Bill was astounded.  Fred was… sticking up for Charlie…?  But  _ why _ …?  “…I…  I’m not  _ mean  _ to him, Fred…  I just… I know what he’s like…” 

“Charlie  _ isn’t  _ ‘like’  _ anything _ ,” Fred growled.  “Charlie is a better brother than  _ you _ and you made him  _ cry _ .” 

Just how badly had Charlie fucked this boy’s head up?  Bill’s tears flowed again, harder this time. “…Fred… Fred, he…”

“You should  _ apologise  _ to him, Bill!” Bill could see it approaching; Fred was about to have a melt-down already.  The younger’s voice raised. “Say  _ sorry  _ to him!” 

“Fred, don’t you remember what he  _ does  _ to you and George?!” It had to have been the hospital, causing more damage within Fred’s already-frail mind, because  _ Charlie  _ couldn’t have done all this himself…  “You think that’s  _ okay _ ?”

“It  _ is  _ okay!” Fred screamed.  “I  _ like  _ it, and so does  _ George _ !  You’re the only stupid one because  _ you  _ don’t like it!  I  _ hate  _ you!” 

Bill couldn’t respond; he was in too much shock.  “…”

“You’re stupid, because Charlie likes you like I like George and you won’t like him back!” Fred grabbed a vase from the shelf next to the door and threw it onto the ground.  Bill still didn’t move; what the  _ fuck  _ did he do?  “You hurt him because you won’t return his feelings!  That’s why he  _ has  _ to hurt you, and you  _ hate  _ him for it!” 

Bill lowered his head.  He closed his eyes as he whispered, “No, Fred…  I  _ don’t  _ hate him…  Now leave me alone…”

Fred didn’t leave; he kept screaming and breaking things until Charlie had eventually came in and took him away with promises of ice cream.  Bill knew he should be out there, seeing what dastardly plan his brother was fulfilling, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so; he could only curl up beneath his blankets and cry himself into a fitful sleep.  

Dinner was strained.   _ Incredibly  _ strained.  Charlie kept staring at Bill with a taunting smirk on his face, as if he were just  _ daring  _ his older brother to say anything about the twins seated on his lap at the dinner table, one hand wandering all over their growing bodies as he used the other to eat and drink.  

Bill wasn’t going to say anything, though; Charlie was looking for a reaction, and while George had clammed up and stopped moving completely, Fred was enjoying the caresses, moaning quietly as he writhed beneath them – Bill supposed it had been all the years of St. Mungo’s making his body crave touch because he sure didn’t want to believe he was aroused over  _ Charlie _ … 

He was still upset, and he hadn’t said anything to any of his brothers since he’d woken up a few hours ago.  He grabbed his cup and raised it to his lips, almost finished it by now, but it was the way Charlie’s face lit up with a pleased smirk did he stop drinking immediately and put it back on the table.  His lips twisted into a growl. “What did you put in it, Charlie…?” 

Charlie laughed.  “Who said I put anything in your drink?  I haven’t had a chance to slip anything in there, even if I wanted to; you’ve been watching me all night.  But not to worry; you’ll notice some…  _ new feelings  _ shortly.”  

“Fuck it.” Bill abandoned the dinner he had barely touched in favour of getting up and going to the living room.  He dropped himself down onto the couch so he could curl up and stare out of the window. He considered owling some of his new work mates and inviting them to hit the pub with him, but he didn’t have the energy for that; he just wanted to lay where he was and never have to move again. 

It didn’t take long for the younger three to join him, and while Charlie kept the twins by his side, making a huge show of running strong hands over their frail bodies in a gentle manner Bill didn’t know he was capable of, Bill did his best to ignore it.

“George, why don’t you go keep Bill company for a while?” Charlie sneered at his big brother as he gently pushed the youngest from his lap.  “Go on. He could…  _ use  _ you.” 

George was too scared to obey, and honestly, he welcomed the escape from the one person his nightmares were made of.  He climbed up onto Bill’s lap and hugged him tight in fear, not able to relax even when the other’s arms wrapped around him to hold him tight.  

It had gone on like that for perhaps an hour; Charlie leering at the two of them as if he knew something they didn’t while he fondled Fred shamelessly.  Bill’s mind was all over the place, but it wasn’t until a startled whimper from his lap caught his attention did he realise his own hand had taken to mimicking Charlie’s, but along George’s body instead.  

He gasped in horror, and with a speed he didn’t know he was capable of, he had stood up and punched Charlie so hard in the face, the younger’s head snapped to the side.  He disappeared back into his bedroom, locking the door behind him as he tried so hard to ignore the pressure in his pants that signified he  _ had  _ been drugged, and the effects were taking hold already. 

If Bill had never considered suicide before, he certainly did now.  


	10. Chapter 10

Charlie came back the next morning, well before the sun had risen.  He’d gotten through the locks on the bedroom door so he could stand before Bill, the other wide awake already.  He smirked at his brother’s sweaty face and took a seat on the edge of the mattress. 

“You know, big brother,” Charlie started gently, “there’s a reason I got you to sleep with me so easily the first few times.  That potion I slip you… The longer you fight it, the worse off you’re going to be. It won’t stop – not until you fuck whoever you need to.  You work today, right? I highly doubt you want to be seen like this…” 

Bill cringed away from the hand that was reaching out to touch his face.  He snarled angrily, keeping his hands in his lap to press down on his arousal in a feeble attempt at making it go away.  “Don’t  _ touch  _ me.” 

Charlie laughed.  “Wouldn’t make a difference if I do or not; I didn’t put my saliva in that potion.  You’ll have to fuck George if you want it to go away, big brother~”

Bill tried to back away when the younger scooted closer to him.  “…”

The smaller male was  _ purring  _ right now.  “I can  _ help  _ you with that, Bill.  He’s asleep right now, in the other room…  He’s curled up so tightly in Fred’s arms, sleeping peacefully for once…  You can do it… It’s  _ okay  _ to fuck him, big brother…  I  _ want  _ you to fuck him…” 

Bill tried to aim another punch and leave a matching bruise around Charlie’s left eye this time, but his body was too weak and feverish, and he was so aroused, the mere brushing of the blankets against his skin made him shudder as he felt himself ejaculating once again, but just like every other time it had happened, it still wasn’t enough to get rid of his arousal.  

Charlie grinned.  He reached out and pushed down on the older male’s shoulders to get him to lay back, and once he was straddling Bill’s hips, his calloused thumbs rubbed circles around the other’s nipples.  “Bill, surely you can’t go into work like this~ You’d best take care of it~ You still have a few hours~” 

Bill’s vision was spotty, and he could barely force out, “I-I am… not…  _ hurting _ … him…”

The younger laid down so he could lick up and down Bill’s throat, earning a loud groan.  He smirked against the feverish skin before he sat back up. “Are you sure?” 

“Positive…” Bill gasped out.

“Okay.” 

It had happened all too easily, and Bill  _ knew  _ it wasn’t over – so when Charlie left the room, he shouldn’t have been surprised that the other returned minutes later with the twins in tow.  He keened loudly in distress when George was grabbed and forced onto his lap; he had never known he had so much willpower because it was taking  _ everything  _ he had to not grab his little brother’s hips and not fuck him silly then and there. 

“Come on, Bill~” Charlie purred.  “He’s right here~ It won’t go away unless you  _ fuck  _ him~  It’ll only get worse~”

“No…”

“You’ll fuck him eventually~” Charlie’s grin widened.  “You can’t resist that forever~ You’ll have torn his ass open before the day ends~” 

Bill shook his head.  “Take him  _ out… _ ”

“No~  Let’s do  _ this  _ instead.” Charlie grabbed George’s hips and lifted him, and in one swift movement, he had mounted the other upon Bill’s arousal so suddenly, the boy was screaming bloody murder as he thrashed to get away.  Bill couldn’t stop his hips from bucking upwards, but he had enough willpower left over to keep them still in resistance. 

“ _ Stop  _ it, Charlie…!” Bill’s own body was beginning to writhe with how desperate his need was.  “ _ Stop _ !” 

“Hold still – the both of you.” From behind George, Charlie had released his own cock from its confines and was working on forcing it against the older male’s own as he split George open so violently, the boy passed out from pain.  He could see the tears rolling down Bill’s cheeks, but he didn’t care about that; he only looked to Fred, who had his hand in his pants, and said, “Put your cock in his mouth or else he’s going to keep screaming when he wakes up. Fuck his face nice and hard so you can choke him.” 

“Charlie, please…” Bill’s tears were coming harder. 

Charlie ignored the pleas.  “I haven’t fucked him yet; it’s his first time having my cock in his ass.”

And then, once George came back to consciousness and screamed in agony in between choking around his twin’s arousal, Bill choked on his own vomit as Charlie lead them all through a violent pace that didn’t stop, not until the sun had risen four hours later and George had long-since stopped moving for the most part, staring at them with wide eyes as his body shuddered and jerked and his hands swept along his body slowly, as if trying to protect himself.

Charlie was as cheerful as ever as he left the three on the bed, getting up to jump in the shower and wash away the blood and semen from his flesh.  Fred didn’t seem to understand the severity of the situation as he smiled at his unmoving twin and told him repeatedly how much he loved him and had missed him during his time at St. Mungo’s.  Bill, however, could only rub at his eyes as he cried more than he had in his entire lifetime. 

 

* * *

 

Bill hadn’t gone to work.  He’d stayed home in bed, listening as Charlie banged around the house, talking happily to Fred, who seemed to be shadowing him for whatever reason.  Bill supposed it was because George was still in bed with Bill, in so much shock, he still hadn’t moved or made a sound. 

Bill laid with him, wanting to hold him tighter than he’d ever held anything, but he was too afraid to do so;  _ he  _ had done that to his baby brother, and George deserved anyone but him right now.  

“George…” Bill still tried to talk to him, but he never got any further than saying the younger’s name.  What  _ was  _ he supposed to say?  Sorry for raping you?  

It didn’t matter that he didn’t know what words to say, though; George was trapped in his mind, probably replaying the events over and over – reliving the  _ betrayal  _ he was surely feeling at having the one person he trusted to not hurt him, do the worst thing imaginable.

One thing was for sure, though; the twins were going to have to go back home as soon as he could get them there.

“Oi, Bill, guess what!” 

Bill groaned loudly in displeasure as Charlie burst into the room, so happy, he was almost skipping over to the bedside drawers to pull out a bag of cocaine.  “Piss off, Charlie…” 

Charlie ignored him completely.  “I asked mum; I convinced her to let the twins stay with us~  We’re going to have  _ so  _ much fun together~” 

Bill didn’t know what had happened; one second he’d been laying in bed, and the next… he was on the floor, with Charlie beneath him as they swung their fists at each other, snarling and yelling.  

He remembered Charlie once saying he wanted to break Bill.  …Well, Bill supposed he must have finally succeeded. 


	11. Chapter 11

“Bill…?” 

Bill sighed at the tiny voice behind him.  He recognized that tone; Charlie had been having a great time with the twins whilst he had been at work.  He dropped his bag from off his shoulder and onto the floor so he could shut the front door and then turn around and kneel to take Fred into his arms.  “What did he do, Fred…?” 

Fred leant up onto his tiptoes so he could whisper into his brother’s ear.  “He poured bleach on Georgie…” 

Bill closed his eyes.  He slid his arm under the younger’s legs so he could scoop him up and carry him further into the house.  “Where’s Charlie now?” 

“He left before lunch…  Said he wanted a fuck…” Fred wrapped his arms around the older male’s neck.  “Georgie is in our bed… He’s really hurting…” 

Bill nodded.  He headed straight for the boys’ room, and even down the other end of the hallway he could still hear the younger twin’s whimpers and moans.  He tightened his hold on Fred. “Have you two been alone all day?”

Fred nodded.  “I tried to look after Georgie but he won’t let me go near him…” 

“He probably won’t let me near, either…” Bill opened the door, and what he found made him gasp.  “George… Oh, George…” 

Fred frowned as he was put back onto his feet.  He hid his face against his brother’s side, not wanting to look at his twin any longer; he’d had to look all day and he wasn’t sure his tummy could handle the sight much longer.  “Bill…? Charlie… put his hand up Georgie’s bum today…” 

Bill froze.  “…His  _ whole  _ hand…?”

Fred nodded.  “Up to his wrist…” 

“Fred, go sit out on the couch.” Bill swallowed back the nausea settled deep within him.  “Don’t come in until I come and get you.” 

Fred didn’t nee to be told twice; he was gone within seconds.  Bill fought against the tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks as he looked at the blood George was  _ caked  _ in, as if he’d been thrown into a swimming pool of blood and hadn’t been able to wipe any of it off.  Even his hair was grimy with dried blood, and judging by the bed sheets beneath him that would need to be thrown out after this, he’d been bleeding for a long time.  

Once he got to his brother’s side, he realized why that was; he’d been cut repeatedly with a serrated edge – a knife, most likely – all over his body, not too deep to kill immediately, but enough to bleed him to death if Bill had been gone much longer.  His legs had been tied to the bed posts to keep them spread, and Bill gagged at the blood and semen that was still rolling out of him slowly, like a tap that hadn’t been turned off properly. 

“George…” Bill withdrew his wand, and he was relieved that, while George was conscious, had seemingly trapped himself inside his mind; if the other knew he was here, there would be so much screaming…  

He swallowed past the lump in his throat, and whispering an incantation he had never had need to use before, he watched as the poor boy fell into a deep sleep.  With that, he mended as much of the damage as he could, but he knew he was going to need a hospital; with all of the blood the younger had lost, it would be too dangerous to let him go without.  

The blood couldn’t be washed away by magic, no matter how hard he tried, so he hurried out into the laundry so he could fill a bucket with warm water and drop disinfectant into it for any wound he may have missed.  With that, he grabbed the cleanest towel he could find and went back to George’s side to slowly wipe away as much blood as he could. 

A knock came at the front door.  It couldn’t have been Charlie; Charlie would just barge in, drunk or high or both, yelling for whatever reason he could today.  He stood up again when Fred’s little feet came running back into the bedroom, a look of distress on his face.

“It’s alright, Fred,” Bill promised.  “I can’t leave George; go and see who it is.  Keep the screen door locked though, alright? They won’t get in past my wards.” 

Bill went back to trying to get the blood out of George’s hair.  He’d given up, disgusted by how red his bucket had gone and the fact that he was now just wiping more blood all over the poor thing, so he dropped the towel to the floorboards and went to fetch a new one and change the water.  

He didn’t get very far before a scream at the doorway made him jump, and he spun around to be face-to-face with Percy.  He felt a migraine assault him out of the blue; he could have handled this had Percy not shown up, but with Percy here, everyone was going to know, and if everyone knew, Charlie was going to be in trouble, and with Charlie in trouble, he’d –

“Stop it!” Percy screamed, interrupting Bill’s rambling he hadn’t even realized he’d been muttering out loud to himself.  “Stop talking to yourself! You’re scaring me!”

Bill twirled his ponytail in his hands as he rocked himself on the spot.  “Percy knows, and now everyone will know, and I don’t know how to cover for Charlie when they’ll see what he’s been doing.  They’ll take him away from me… They’ll take him away and they’ll –“

Percy chewed at his fingernails with wide eyes before he balled his hand into a fist and used it to punch the older male’s cheek.  “You’re freaking me out! Stop it! You’re rambling on like a crazy person!”

The oldest sibling was in the middle of a mental breakdown, Percy could see.  When he’d seen frightened little Fred at the door, he’d known something was wrong, and when Fred had whimpered how he was scared George was about to die, he’d broken through the wards and ran in to find… something he’d only imagined in his worst nightmares.

“Charlie didn’t mean it,” Bill continued to ramble as he ripped at his ponytail.  “Really, he didn’t, Perce; he didn’t  _ mean  _ it…  He didn’t do this; someone else did this and they –“

The punch hadn’t worked; Bill was still in the middle of losing his fucking mind.  Percy dropped his face into his hands as he burst into tears; he’d tried so hard to tell his mother that this was what would happen if she let the twins near Charlie, but she hadn’t believed him – had told him he was lying, daydreaming even, because Charlie would never hurt any of his siblings.  

He looked back at Fred, who was clinging to the doorframe in distress.  He pushed his glasses back up his nose as he looked between Bill and George, and it was then he realized what needed to be done; Bill couldn’t look after himself in this state – but then neither could those boys, and they’d been reliant on Bill to protect them and all Bill had ever done was let them down. 

“Fred, go get me a thick blanket – one that George likes.” Percy approached the bed, shuddering at the blood beneath his hands when he put them onto the sheets.  He heard Fred come running back into the room, and as soon as the blanket was handed to him, he lifted George from the mattress and had Fred help him wrap the younger twin up in it.  “We’re going to the hospital. Come on.” 

Fred looked back at Bill, who hadn’t moved an inch from where he’d been standing, still rambling away to no one as he rocked back and forth.  “What about Bill? Charlie will hurt him…” 

Percy swallowed.  He hadn’t missed the bruising all over his oldest brother’s face, but the fact of the matter was… Bill had  _ allowed  _ things to get this far.  Bill was their big brother, and he was supposed to  _ protect  _ them – instead, all he had ever done was make excuses for Charlie, beg them not to tell and promise he would try and fix things.  

…But every. Single. Time. He’d done nothing but let them down spectacularly.  

“Bill is a big boy; he can look after himself.” Percy grabbed Fred’s hand and dragged him from the room.  “Come on. If we don’t hurry, George will… not be okay. Come on. You  _ are not  _ staying here a second longer.” 

With one last look back at Bill, Fred disappeared around the doorframe as he was dragged from the house and in the direction of the closest hospital. 

Bill kept rambling on about Charlie, about everything that was going to happen now that someone had found out, and he couldn’t stop; not even when Charlie had returned home and clued on as to what had happened.  

“You let them  _ go?! _ ” Charlie really  _ had  _ been out indulging today; he smelled heavily of sex and drugs, but Bill couldn’t acknowledge it – he could barely acknowledge  _ reality _ .  The younger grabbed Bill by the throat and slammed him against the wall as he leant in close to hiss into his ear, his fingers tightening to cut off his brother’s air supply.  “How  _ dare  _ you let someone  _ take  _ them from me?!  I was having so much fun with them, Bill…  I should kill you here and now…” 

The younger’s wand did indeed press against his temple, but before he could decide on what to cast, he heard the front door being broken from its hinges and the wards disrupted as the house was flooded with Ministry workers.  He snarled, and with one last loathing glare at Bill, he Apparated.

Bill hadn’t stopped rocking, not even when a group of strangers approached him.  They took gentle hold of his arms, trying to pull him away from the wall, but all he could do was slide down it and continue to murmur.  

“It’s alright…” A warm hand patted his greasy, unkempt hair.  “You’re safe now. You’re safe.” 

Bill was in no state to recognize it at the current moment in time, but eventually he’d realise that just in that one moment, Percy had shown more spine in five minutes than  _ he  _ had in Charlie’s entire lifespan.

“We need a psychiatric ward,” one of the newcomers announced.  “Someone go ahead and get them ready.”

“It’s okay; you’re going to be okay…  We’re going to get you help…”

“But people will know I didn’t do anything to help Charlie because I didn’t want him to get into trouble, and now it’s too late and I can’t help anyone and if people find out, they’ll know I only ever covered for him, and I…” He couldn’t stop the rambling, even as he was gently escorted out of the house and away to the nearest hospital for mental evaluation.  


	12. Chapter 12

“Bill?”

Bill looked up as he heard his name called from the doorway of his hospital room.  He frowned at the woman in long, white robes; she’d been trying to get him to come out of his room for a long time now, and honestly, he was sick of it.  “…”

She gave him a gentle smile.  “Your family is here.” 

For the first time in what felt like an eternity but had really been a year, he left his bed and ventured down the blindingly white hallways of the psychiatric hospital.  He toyed with his long hair, his hair tie lost long ago, as he wondered about what he was going to be greeted with.

“Are they here to visit me…?” Bill’s voice cracked from days of silence.  He vaguely considered that if this was the kind of trouble he was having with speech already, would George ever be able to talk again?  

Her smile never faded.  “They’re here to take you home so they can look after you.” 

It was surprising; they’d never spoken to him about when he’d be released, and he’d assumed that after what they’d found him in, he’d be here a lot longer.  “Do they still want me…?”

She nodded.  “Of course they do; they requested they bring you home or else you were going to be here with us longer.” 

Bill nodded.  He said nothing more until they’d reached the front of the hospital and Arthur’s red hair grabbed his attention.  He shuffled to his father, his legs gone weak from lack of use, and with his head remaining bowed, he stopped by the man’s side.  Neither of them spoke; not until Arthur thanked the woman and conversed with her as he filled out all of the paperwork. 

Finally, once they were alone, Arthur was quieter than Bill had ever heard him.  “We’ve brought all your belongings home, Bill… You can come back with us…”

Still, Bill remained silent.  He stayed that way until they’d gotten back to the Burrow long past nightfall and he made his way immediately upstairs and to the twins’ room.  He pushed the door open, and it was with a breaking heart he turned around to face Arthur, who’d followed him up. “Where are the twins…?”

Arthur looked away.  “…Molly had them at the hospital before I left yesterday…  Emergency therapy…”

Bill’s eyes closed, and he raised his hand to rip at his hair in distress.  “…”

“Fred told us…” Arthur wrapped his arms around himself as he shuddered.  “About what Charlie had been doing to them…”

“…”

Finally, Arthur let a tear roll down his cheek.  “I found them… Yesterday morning… It wasn’t Fred’s fault…  Charlie taught him he was  _ allowed _ …”

It was the first time in a  _ very  _ long time Bill had been able to make eye contact.  “Fred was having sex with him, wasn’t he…?”

Arthur nodded.  “He didn’t understand why I was so distraught…  Thought it was a completely normal thing for him to be doing…  And George… Just  _ laid  _ there…  Like he’d gone so far into his mind, he just… he blocked out reality…”

“Please don’t be mad at him…  Charlie screwed us  _ all  _ up, dad…” Bill let out a heavy sigh.  “I’m going to bed… Goodnight…”

“Goodnight, Bill…”

As soon as Bill had gently closed his door behind him, he turned around to look for his clothing – but when he caught sight of Charlie’s old bed, he felt an anger swell inside him he’d never felt before.  His body shook furiously, and his hands clenched as he let out a low growl. He wanted his wand, but he didn’t know where it was; if he’d had it, he’d have set the fucking thing on fire already. 

“Fuck you, Charlie…  Fuck you.”

Bill no longer wanted his pyjamas; instead, he sauntered to his own bed and collapsed onto the mattress.  He didn’t even bother with pulling the blankets over him; he closed his eyes and forced himself into a sleep so broken, he’d wake up the next morning vomiting – though, he would suppose, it could also have been the nausea of having his life with Charlie played through his mind like a broken record.  

“They still haven’t found him…”

Bill froze his hand at his father’s words.  He tried to ground himself by rubbing Ginny’s long, soft hair through his fingers, but it wasn’t working; he dropped the comb he’d been running through it as he turned to give Arthur a distressed look.  “I never want to see him again, dad…”

Arthur was pained.  He probably felt the same way as Bill, angry and  _ hurt  _ that Charlie had destroyed all of his siblings’ lives – but at the same time, he was a father, and he probably only wanted his son back, safe and sound…  “I can understand that, Bill… I really can…”

Ginny turned around, her hair forgotten, so she could clamber onto her brother’s lap and curl up against him.  She wiped at her eyes. “We tried to tell you, dad…”

Arthur turned away for all of three seconds so he could wipe at his eyes.  He nodded in acknowledgement. “You did… And I apologise…” 

“You should have listened…” Ginny hid her face in Bill’s chest, comforted only by her big brother’s strong arms around her, holding her tight.  “You should have…” 

Bill took control of the situation; this was only hurting them all, so while he threaded his fingers slowly through his sister’s hair, he murmured, “Hogwarts finishes next week; when Ron and Perce come home, I’ll take us all out for ice cream.  Okay, Gin?”

Ginny finally lifted her head, and with tear-brimmed eyes, she whispered, “Can we get ice cream when Fred and George come home…?  Dad said they’ll be out of hospital today…”

Bill wanted to say yes, that he would even take the three of them to Diagon Alley all day if they wanted him to, but Arthur had spoken before he could even open his mouth.

“Ginny, that’s…” Arthur chose his words carefully.  “…That won’t be good for George… He needs to be home; he won’t be able to go out in public for a long time…” 

The oldest sibling didn’t want to question it; he knew how George had been  _ before  _ Percy had stepped in, and after everything that had happened to him in Egypt, he could only imagine… 

“Molly should be back very soon,” Arthur promised.  “Bill, I need to go back to the Ministry; can you look after Ginny for me?”

Bill nodded.  He leant down to get the comb from the floor, trying his best to get everything associated with Charlie from his mind.  “Sure, dad… Ginny, let’s go to Diagon Alley; we’ll get a whole tub of ice cream and we can all sit out on the lawn and eat it together.  Okay?”

“That’ll be a good idea.” Arthur finally gave a smile that reached his eyes.  “Get out of the house for a little while. You look after her, Bill.” 

Bill couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anger surge through him at those words; did Arthur think he would let something happen to  _ Ginny?   _ …The anger was gone as soon as it appeared; Arthur  _ did  _ have reason to worry…  “We’ll have fun. Bye, dad.”

Ginny allowed her hair to be combed properly before she stood up to follow her brother to his bedroom.  She watched as he took his medication and grabbed his packet of smokes from the bedside table to slip into his jeans pocket.  “What are those for, Bill?” 

Bill looked to his sister, so young and innocent…  He frowned. “Charlie… messed my head up, too, Gin…  I tried to kill myself, the night I got institutionalized…” 

Ginny understood; even someone as strong as  _ Bill  _ had been broken down by their brother, and it made her feel better that she wasn’t alone in that – that it was  _ okay  _ for her to feel weak and helpless over everything Charlie had done.  “I get it, Bill.”

Bill gave her a small smile.  “Go get dressed, okay? I’m going to jump in the shower; I’ll be out in a moment.” 

It took him only seconds to gather clothing and disappear into the bathroom, and once he had kicked his clothing off and turned the taps on, he frowned; now that he was thinking about it all…  

He shook his head.  He was going to be okay, he told himself; he just couldn’t think about anything to do with Charlie and he would be okay.  

But he wasn’t.  As soon as he noticed his father’s razor hanging on the rack, his fingers twitched.  He tried to control himself, but he was too weak to do so; he grabbed the razor, and in one quick movement, he’d cut across his wrist, spilling blood by his feet.  It hadn’t made him feel any better, and he considered cutting downwards, all the way from his wrist to his elbow and getting it over and done with.

He’d pressed the blade deep into his skin, the serrated edge facing his elbow, and he was just about to drag it down – but it was the knock on the bathroom door that stopped him.  He closed his eyes. “Yes, Gin…?” 

“I’m ready, Bill.  I’m ready to leave.” 

Bill put the razor back where he’d found it.  How could he be so  _ stupid _ ?  His family had been hurt enough; they didn’t need to suffer any more…

 

* * *

 

Diagon Alley was as busy as he remembered it to be.  They didn’t stop to look around, though; they had one mission and that was to bring back ice cream for everyone.  

“Bill?” Ginny was hugging tight to her brother’s arm, but she wasn’t nervous; instead, she looked excited, and Bill had a feeling it was because Charlie was gone.  “When I get my Hogwarts letter, can you take me to get all my stuff? You’re going to stay with us then, aren’t you?”

Bill didn’t know what he was going to do in future.  He wanted to go back to his job, but every time he thought of Egypt, he thought of Charlie and everything that had happened in that house and he found himself a shaking, anxiety-ridden mess.  His hands started shaking at the mere thought of it, and his hand flew downwards to get a smoke into his mouth. “…”

Ginny, much brighter than Charlie would ever give her credit for, knew what the silence meant; Bill didn’t want to talk about it.  She went back to the original topic. “Mum still has Fred and George’s books; if they’re on the list she’ll let me have those, but I still need to buy other stuff.  It’d be great if you could take me, Bill.” 

Bill nodded.  He took a deep puff before he exhaled.  “Of course I will, Gin.”

Their walk was a comfortable one as they spoke of random subjects, enjoying each other’s company, but by the time they’d gotten close to their destination, shouting filled the air, and Bill froze up when he felt a small body hit his.  He couldn’t move, not even to turn his head and see what had hit him; images of Charlie replayed through his mind, of the way his brother could go from sweet and affectionate and  _ loving  _ one moment to hateful and violent the next. 

“Stop it!” 

It was Ginny’s yell from next to him that broke Bill free.  He spun around, his eyes widening as he saw the way his sister had moved to shield the body of a boy, barely any older than she was, from the three other boys who were laughing and mocking the two of them now.  

He felt panic like never before consume him, the idea that he was going to have to watch his sister be beaten to a bloodied pulp taking over his mind, and though he knew he as the adult should be stepping in and stopping the situation  _ completely,  _ all he could do was duck his head as he snatched Ginny’s wrist and tugged her roughly away from the boys.  She yelled at him, telling him what he already knew and that they should  _ help  _ that poor boy, but he couldn’t lift his head; the best he could do was walk them at a fast pace the rest of the way to the ice cream shop before he stopped and put his face in his hands. 

“Bill…?” Ginny’s tiny hand rested against his side.  

He reached down once more to fumble through his pockets, grabbing his smokes and wallet.  He thrust his wallet to the younger before his trembling hands ripped free another cigarette and he muttered, “G-go pick out a flavour, Gin…  Get three tubs… I’ll stay here…”

Ginny nodded.  She looked back over her shoulder at her brother, but when she saw the way he hastily wiped at his eyes, she understood; whether Bill knew it himself or not – whether he could  _ acknowledge  _ it or not – he was broken, and just like the rest of them, it was hard to know it he would ever be whole again.  


	13. Chapter 13

It wasn’t long before Bill’s siblings were due to go back to Hogwarts.  He was glad to hear that Ron was making such good friends and was  _ happy  _ for once – but what he  _ didn’t  _ like hearing was that his best friend was abused.  

“And so they’ll be keeping him prisoner or something, Bill…” 

Bill’s hands shook as he pulled his blankets tighter around him.  “I’m sorry to hear all of this, Ron… I hope mum and dad can go get him soon…”

“Well…” Ron’s hands fumbled together.  “…I… I was hoping… you could help me bring him home…” 

Bill froze up.  His breathing picked up in anxiety before he mumbled, “And how do you expect me to do that, Ron…?”

“We can take dad’s flying car and go break him out,” the younger suggested.  “Tonight, once mum and dad are asleep. We can fly there.” 

Bill knew it was cruel of him.  He knew he should be doing whatever he could to help his brother’s friend from an abusive household – but the best he could do was shake his head at Ron and murmur, “I’m sorry, Ron…  I don’t want to get involved…” 

Ron couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  His eyes almost filled with tears before he forced them back, remembering the way Charlie had always belittled him if he ever got upset.  He grit his teeth together, and he mumbled, “You never wanted to get involved with  _ anything  _ that could come back on you…  Sometimes I wonder… Was it Charlie’s hide… or  _ yours  _ that you were so desperate to protect…?” 

And with that, Ron was gone. 

Bill looked at his lap.  The light of the afternoon billowed through his bedroom and soaked him in warmth, but he still felt cold.  He reached out to get a cigarette. 

It was a good question, and one that he had been pondering for under a year now.  He’d always thought it had been Charlie he wanted to protect, to help him and guide him and  _ love  _ him.  …But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he wasn’t sure he’d been trying to protect his brother at  _ all _ .

Bill closed his eyes as he lit his cigarette.  He took a deep puff before he felt it with shaking hands and fought against the tears.  He  _ would  _ go and ask his parents if he could borrow the old Anglia and take Ron to get his friend, but for now, he needed to be alone. 

 

* * *

 

He hadn’t intended on sleeping the entire day away, but here he was, woken early the next morning by his mother’s shouting.  He slowly sat up so he could swing his legs over the bed and go downstairs to see what was wrong. He was glad he’d taken the trip; he’d gotten downstairs and found a head of black hair that clearly wasn’t a Weasley. 

“Hello.” Bill was as polite as ever as he took note of the shy expression on the newcomer’s face.  His smile never faltered as he watched the way the younger moved closer to Ron, and though his eyes caught sight of the scar on the other’s forehead, he did his best to not come off as rude.  “You must be Harry, right? Ron’s been talking about you all summer.” 

Harry nodded, and with a small smile of his own, he reached out to shake Bill’s hand.  “Harry. Harry Potter.” 

“That’s Bill.” Ron nodded at his brother.  “Fred and George are still asleep, and I think Ginny is, too.  You’ll meet them soon enough.” 

Bill smiled again at their guest before he went to find their mother, and as expected, she was in the kitchen, cooking up a storm.  “What were you yelling about earlier, mum?” 

“Oh, Ron took that enchanted car through the night!” Molly was still agitated, but she’d definitely calmed down.  “Can you believe the nerve of that boy?!”

Immediately, Bill felt guilty.  He ducked his head, and though he wanted to stay silent and not draw any negative attention onto himself, he remembered what Ron had said the day previous, and now was as good a time as any to try and make up for all his selfishness over the years.  “He asked me to take him yesterday, mum. I was going to ask if I could borrow the car but I slept all day. Sorry… It’s my fault…” 

Molly stopped what she was doing to give her son a concerned look.  It wasn’t like Bill to beat himself up like this, but after hearing just a  _ tiny  _ bit of what Charlie had been doing to his siblings, she wasn’t going to be surprised if this was a result of Charlie’s abuse.  She lowered her tone. “Bill, don’t worry about it. They both got here safely. Stop blaming yourself.” 

Bill nodded.  “Do you want any help with breakfast?”

“No, just go and get Ginny and the twins up, and check on Percy for me, too, will you?  I haven’t heard a sound from him since dinner last night.”

Bill did as asked.  He stopped by Percy’s room first and knocked on the door, knowing they had a  _ lot  _ of reason to worry about the third born; while he was doing far better away from Charlie, the damage had still been done. 

“Percy?” He pushed the door open slowly, and to his relief, he found his brother at his desk, doing his homework.  “Percy, mum is making breakfast. She asked me to check up on you.”

Percy gave a stiff nod.  He was stoic as he responded.  “I am fine.” 

“Ron has his friend over.  Have you met him? Black haired boy named Harry.”

“Yes.”  Percy barely spoke to him these days, not after he had come around all that time ago and found what he had.  Bill didn’t know what to think, but he was too cowardly to ask what terms they stood on. 

Instead, he gave another nod.  “Okay… I’m going to get the others up…  I’ll… see you at breakfast…” 

Percy remained silent.  Bill left to get to Ginny’s room, and he had no trouble waking her up and getting her to get ready for the day.  It was with the twins the problem was going to lay. 

Their bedroom door squeaked slightly as it opened, and while George jolted awake at the sound, Fred remained in deep sleep.  George watched his every movement, the front of his pants dampening as they always seemed to do the second someone so much as entered the same room as him.  

Bill tried to smile at him, but he could barely get his lips to twitch at the way his brother’s eyes filled with tears already; he’d probably never know for certain, but he was sure it was because every time George saw him, he remembered how Charlie had forced them both inside his tiny body and caused him quite possibly the worst pain of his life.  

“It’s okay,” Bill promised.  “Just need to wake you guys up and get you ready for breakfast.”

Fred woke with a few shakes to his shoulder.  He blinked sleepily up at Bill before he wrapped his arms tighter around his twin and held him close.  “Bill…? I dun’wan have sex right now… Just woke up…” 

It broke Bill’s heart to hear those words and  _ know  _ Fred was only saying them because he truly believed that was what the oldest sibling wanted from him in that moment.  He shook his head, and ghosting his fingers against Fred’s cheek, he whispered, “I don’t want sex, Fred; breakfast will be ready soon.” 

Fred yawned before he nodded.  He slid his hands along George’s body before he raised himself slightly on his elbow so he could draw his twin into a deep kiss.  Bill shuddered, and he knew he should be stopping it – but how was he supposed to do that when it was hugely  _ his  _ fault Fred was doing this in the first place?  

“…Fred, get George into the bath.”  He was  _ pathetic _ …  Unable to even take charge of the twins when he knew he needed to…  “I’ll clean your bed soon.” 

He watched the way Fred finally broke away from his twin to obey, and once the two youngest were both out of bed and making their way to the bathroom, holding hands tightly, he was satisfied; with a bit of luck, Fred wouldn’t decide he wanted a bit of… morning fun in the bathtub… 

He went back downstairs, sitting with his family just in time for breakfast to be served.  He took part in their conversations until Fred and George had come downstairs, the loud thuds that were the older twin’s as he happily jumped for stair to stair while George’s footfalls were much softer –  _ slower _ in his nervousness to be leaving his bedroom.  

“One step, two step!  Jump, Georgie!” 

It was the old Fred from ten years ago who once loved his twin more than life itself, joyful and playful as he made everything into a game.  The same couldn’t be said for George, though; it sounded as if he had stopped completely on his journey. 

“Come on, Georgie~  Breakfast~ You can do it~  One more flight of stairs to go!” 

Bill looked at Molly, and he gave a faint smile.  “He used to scream at George when he’d stop on the staircase…” 

Molly nodded in agreement.  “I think therapy is really helping him…” 

Bill looked to Harry, and he cleared his throat, wanting to get it over with before the twins could overhear.  “Has Ron told you about the twins, Harry?”

Harry nodded, and a look of empathy crossed his face.  “I know about Charlie, if that’s what you’re asking…” 

The rest of the table looked down as pain filled them.  Bill nodded, and he gripped his cutlery tight as he murmured, “Please don’t take it personally if they don’t take to you well; it isn’t  _ you _ .” 

The newcomer’s smile was sincere.  “It’s okay; I’ll try not to upset them.” 

Normal chatter resumed as the twins arrived.  George, at the sight of Harry, cowered and had to take his breakfast to the living room to eat with Fred, but Bill knew it was still good news that George hadn’t screamed and Fred had stayed calm, even if indifferent to their guest; they were slowly getting somewhere, and that was all he wanted. 

“Bill, can we have ice cream?” 

Bill lowered the newspaper he’d been reading in the living room so he could look at Fred.  His brother looked so hopeful as he hid his hands behind his back and rocked on the balls of his feet – but as cute and childish as he knew Fred genuinely was, he still looked so remarkably like Charlie used to when manipulating, and panic surged through him.

He grounded himself, focusing on his breathing; one breath, two breath, five seconds, three breaths, before he forced a smile onto his face.  “Of course. Where is George?” 

“In our room.” Fred stepped back as Bill got to his feet.  He clapped his hands together and his eyes glinted as he exclaimed, “I finally got Georgie to play with me, Bill!  We were in bed, and he let me tickle him, and he tried to tickle me back! So I told him he could have ice cream because he’s a good boy~” 

Bill was overjoyed to hear the news; George had done nothing but lay in bed, unmoving for so long, so to hear that he had finally found the mental and emotional strength to play with his twin…  “Go and get everyone and tell them to come outside to the table; I’ll go and get the ice cream.” 

Fred whistled to himself as he went back upstairs to send everyone outside, and true to his word, he gathered the ice cream tubs and enough spoons for his siblings and their guest.  While Percy didn’t come out to join them, the others had, and as expected, George had trouble trying to get past the threshold of the backdoor.

“It’s okay, George,” Bill called to him as he came to hold his brother’s hand in encouragement.  “You’re safe outside. No one else is out here except for us. You’re safe.” 

Finally, he got outside and allowed himself to be escorted to the rest of his family.  They’d decided not to sit at the table, and instead they’d carried the ice cream tubs out on the lawn to sit by the garden where they could watch the gnomes run around.  

“Okay, I’ve got everyone’s spoons here.” Bill passed them all out before he took the lid off the first tub and got ready to dip his spoon into it.  “Oh! Harry!”

Harry jumped, and though he didn’t look afraid, Bill still felt terrible for startling him.  A sheepish look crossed his face as he murmured apologetically, “I’m sorry, Harry; Ron, can you go and get Harry a bowl so he can take his ice cream first?”

Harry shook his head.  “No, it’s okay; I don’t mind everyone’s spoons going in.” 

Bill felt the pressure disappear, and his features became more natural as he relaxed.  “Okay, good. Help yourself to whichever tub you want, Harry; we’re all good at sharing.” 

George had made it a point to sit further away from his family, almost out on his lonesome with one of the buckets he had taken with him.  He scraped aimlessly at the ice cream, but he didn’t eat any of it – not until Fred had come to join him and promised him that it was okay and he was still safe outside with them all.   

“What do you do for work, Bill?”

Bill flinched at the question, but he wasn’t going to be rude to Harry.  He hoped his smile didn’t look strained as he replied gently, “I’m a curse breaker for Gringotts; I’m back on holidays for a while, though.”

Harry’s eyes widened in amazement.  “That’s amazing.” 

Bill was just glad to know Ron had good choice in friends after everything.  “I loved it. What about you? Are you enjoying Hogwarts?”

There were no words to explain just how happy the raven-haired male looked at this question, and his gushing told Bill everything he wanted to know; this boy was probably the happiest at school than he ever could be anywhere else.  

He looked back to the twins before he whispered, “Mum and dad are talking about sending the twins back to school this year – to catch up on what they’ve missed.  George mightn’t still be ready, but Fred will be okay. If he goes back, he’ll be in your year level with you and Ron because of how much he’s missed. You have to look after him for me if he does.  Okay?” 

Harry beamed with pride as he nodded.  “Sure thing, Bill.” 

Bill draped his arm around Harry’s shoulders and hugged him tight; now  _ this  _ was a friend he could welcome into his family any day. 


	14. Chapter 14

_ The touch of Charlie’s calloused hands on Bill’s body reminded him of the way he had once scraped the entire side of his leg off on the ground after he’d fallen over and skidded along it.  He shuddered; wherever his brother’s hands touched, they left disgust and pain and  _ devastation _ in their wake.   _

_ “Big brother~” Charlie’s hot breath billowed against his cheek, and if he hadn’t been tied to the bed, he would have shoved the younger away.  “Oh, big brother, you’re so beautiful~”  _

_ Bill fought against the nausea those words brought him.  He squeezed his eyes shut tight and turned his head to the side.  “…”  _

_ “Does it hurt…?” Charlie twisted the knife in his hand, earning a muffled cry of pain around his gag from the other.  He sneered, and he finally allowed his hand to move again, carefully tracing down his ribcage to his hip and leaving puddles of blood wherever he went.  “It’s a good kind of pain, isn’t it? You’re making me so hard~”  _

_ He was powerless; his wand had been stripped from him and sealed away, and whatever wandless magic he could conjure, Charlie was better.  It’d hurt less to let him have his fun, and if he were lucky, tonight wouldn’t last  _ half  _ as long as it usually did. _

_ Charlie’s eyes wandered down his brother’s body, smiling at the bruising he had inflicted the night previous; it’d been fun to get Bill so drunk, he hadn’t been able to fight back or protect himself when Charlie had lashed out completely out of the blue, using anything and everything he had access to as a weapon.  He’d stopped only once he’d knocked Bill unconscious and blood had pooled around his head on the floor, but that was okay; he could that again another night but for now, he just wanted to  _ cut _.  _

Bill’s eyes snapped open, and as he shot upright in bed, gasping for breath, his hand lifted his pyjama shirt so he could grab his hip and feel for blood.  His breathing calmed once his hand came away clean, only the feel of an aging scar that signified what he had relived in his dream was long finished. 

He dropped himself back into his bed, laying on his back as he stared up at the roof and tried to calm his breathing back to normal.  He didn’t know how long he laid there for, but finally, he realized that while his room was slowly getting lighter, he also had to use the toilet.  

“Damnit…” He threw his feet over the bed so he could stand up and make his way from the room.  

The problem with the Burrow was that, for the amount of people it housed, it was still very small and cramped, and so while he was in a better position than Ron or his parents who were still sleeping on floors above him, he had to go down two flights of stairs to the first floor where the only toilet was located, and then make his back up to the third to go back to sleep.  

“Stupid Charlie…” He muttered to himself as he walked.  “Stupid,  _ stupid  _ Charlie…” 

He avoided the creaky step without even thinking and then stepped down onto the second floor.  He tried to be as quiet as he possibly could so he didn’t disturb Percy’s sleep, knowing how lightly his brother slept and not wanting to give him any more reason to hate him.

He’d passed Percy’s room and was approaching the twins’ next, but before he could get there, he stopped.  He listened closer, sure that he had heard something in the darkness, but when it didn’t replay, he stopped worrying about it; it was probably the ghoul in the attic he was hearing. 

But then, once he started walking again, he heard it once more; a small, choking sound that was coming from the twins’ room.  He moved closer, and with his door on the handle, he pressed his ear against the hardwood. 

“Oh…  G-georgie…”

Again, that choking noise sounded, and it was clear what was going on in there.  His hand tightened briefly around the handle, certain to himself he was just about to open the door and interrupt, but he couldn’t; he stepped away from the door and forced himself past the bedroom, wondering if he could convince himself he was hearing things and everyone else in the house was still asleep.

_ But George hadn’t been making any noise…  _ He stopped and looked back.  He remembered clear as crystal how George had shut down the day Charlie had drugged him and forced them both into…  _ that _ .  It seemed to have happened every time after, since.   _ He’s shut down again… _

Bill closed his eyes.  He recalled how helpless he used to feel whenever Charlie would force him into the same kinds of things – and really, hadn’t he done enough damage?  He hadn’t even been strong enough to be the one to get rid of Charlie; it had been  _ Percy _ who had had the backbone to do so…  

He turned around, and after taking a deep breath, he took hold of the handle and twisted it.  The light of the rising sun had filtered in just enough for Bill to make out the scene before him; George, unmoving in the slightest as he lay on his back, with Fred straddling his chest and holding onto the bed frame as he thrust his hips aggressively into his twin’s open mouth. 

Fred had heard the door open because he’d turned around to see who it was.  His hips hadn’t stopped moving, though; in fact, they only seemed to move harder at the thought of an audience.  

Not a word was spoken between them.  Bill watched, and Fred thrust, but they didn’t break eye contact; not until Bill had walked to the bed and grabbed one of Fred’s wrists to pull it away from the frame as he shook his head.  

“No more, Fred…” He whispered.  Fred’s hips slowed gradually, and then they stopped moving altogether, leaving George to choke and sputter beneath him.  “No more…” 

Fred held only a look of confusion, but he did manage to pull himself out of his brother’s mouth, leaving Bill to look down at a sweat-soaked, semen-stained George; Fred had been at it for quite a while now…  He sat back on his haunches. “Bill…?”

Bill reached out, and with hands so gentle, he took his brother’s shoulders and laid him down in the bed.  He shushed the younger as he grabbed at the blankets and tucked him in tight before he leant down to kiss Fred’s forehead and whisper, “Please…  You have to  _ stop  _ that, Fred…  No more…”

Fred sounded more pained than Bill had ever heard him as he whispered back, “But I  _ love  _ him, Bill…  Charlie said I  _ have  _ to have sex with him so he knows how much I love him…” 

“Charlie  _ lied;  _ George already knows how much you love him, and you’ll prove it if you  _ stop, _ ” Bill promised.  “Now, don’t think about anymore; get some sleep.  Clean George up in the morning; I’m going to scare him if I try and clean him now.” 

Fred nodded.  He watched the way Bill gave his twin a matching kiss on the forehead before he tucked the youngest in as well.  He then leant across to give his twin his own goodnight kiss, a deep tongue-involved one that George was too shut off to even notice.  

Bill winced.  He wanted to tell Fred no again, tell him he couldn’t even kiss George anymore – but one step at a time; they’d have to ease him out of those horrible habits if they wanted to help him.  “Goodnight…”

Fred didn’t respond.  He only watched as Bill headed to the door, but before his big brother could leave, he whimpered out, “W-wait…!”

Bill turned around.  “What is it?”

Fred look down.  “…Never mind…”

Bill didn’t press.  He only nodded and continued his journey from the room, but though he finally relieved his bladder only a few minutes later, there was no way he was going back to sleep any time soon.  He laid down in his bed, watching the sun rise, but his eyes didn’t close; instead, he laid there until he heard Molly yelling, and with a heavy sigh, he finally got up for the morning.

 

* * *

 

“Is everyone looking forward to Hogwarts?” Bill smiled at everyone as he stirred his porridge absentmindedly.  

His siblings and Harry nodded at him, Ron talking animatedly about last year’s adventures while Bill listened politely.  He was trying to focus on his brother’s words, but it was hard to do so when from by his side, Fred had let out an agitated scream for no apparent reason and thrown his bowl across the table, shattering it.  He got to his feet and ripped handfuls of his hair from his head before he threw himself against the wall and screamed again. 

Molly had rushed to his side and tried to restrain him before he hurt himself, but it only made him more agitated.  Bill came over as well, putting his hands on Fred’s shoulders. “Fred, what happened? Fred! Look at me!” 

As he thrashed and writhed in Molly’s arms, the twin finally screamed out, “Charlie’s outside!  I saw him!” 

Bill eyes narrowed, and he let out a snarl as he stood up straight and grabbed the closest unoccupied chair so he could throw it onto the ground and break it, just like Fred’s bowl.  He stormed out of the house, and once he had slammed the door shut behind him, he looked around.

“Charlie!” He roared.  He felt anger consume him until he was left with a raging headache that made him wince.  His breathing was harsh as his shoulders shook. “Charlie, where the fuck are you?! Charlie!”

He flew around the property, checking everywhere he knew Charlie was capable of hiding – but it wasn’t until he’d wandered far away from the house before he saw him, sitting up on the hill they’d all played on so often as children,  _ waving  _ at him as if everything in the world was perfectly fine.  

“I’m going to  _ kill  _ you,” he hissed under his breath.  “I’m going to  _ fucking kill you! _ ” 

Charlie was completely unfazed as his brother rushed him.  In fact, it made his grin widen. He waited until Bill was just feet away before he pulled his wand out and pointed it at the older male.  “Tut tut, big brother. Get too close, and you’ll regret it.” 

Bill stopped.  His body quivered in anger as he glared holes through Charlie.  “What are you doing here?”

Charlie cocked his head to the side as he laid back in the grass on his elbows.  He looked lazily up at the sky. “Just wanted to see how my family is doing. Is that a crime?”

“When it comes to  _ you,  _ it is!  You think I’ll ever let you near our siblings again?  Because I  _ won’t,  _ Charlie.  I’ll  _ kill  _ you before I ever let that happen.”

Laughter ripped itself from Charlie’s throat.  “You?  _ Protect  _ them?  What dream world are you living in, Bill?  You’ve never protected anyone but yourself!  Even at the very end, it wasn’t  _ you _ .  It was that spineless, pathetic piece of trash named  _ Percy _ .  See, big brother, I know how you work.  You won’t get involved with anything unless it can hurt  _ you _ .  You’d rather ignore it, pretend you didn’t see or hear or  _ know _ what’s going on.  You’re like putting bandaids on a stab wound; it might hold off a tiny bit of blood, but that wound is still going to kill.  You’ve never protected anything but  _ yourself  _ in your  _ life _ unless it would be of benefit to you to do so.” 

“You’re wrong!” Bill roared.  “Unlike you, I  _ love  _ our family!  I did my best!” 

“What, like having a mental breakdown once you realized people were going to find out what you’ve  _ allowed  _ to happen for so many years?” Charlie raised his fingers to his chin and tapped it in thought.  “I wonder, big brother… Is it more my fault or yours that the boys are so fucked in the head? I mean…  Yeah, I did all that, but  _ you _ .  _ Let _ .  _ It. Happen _ .” 

Bill stopped.  His eyes widened as he realized Charlie was right.  “…”

“But that’s okay, big brother~” A smile.  A deceiving, fake smile was plastered on Charlie’s face now.  “I still like you~”

Bill was cursing the fact he’d left his wand upstairs; if he’d had it with him, one of them would be grievously injured right now.  “…”

“How are they?  Our siblings, I mean.  Do they remember me?” 

“What kind of fucked up question is that?” Bill hissed.  “You think they’ll  _ ever  _ forget what you’ve done to them…?”

“Hmm…  Nope~ Guess not~” Charlie’s smile became lopsided.  “Shame, really. I didn’t get to do much with Ron or Ginny.  I guess they were even more boring than Percy because they barely grabbed my attention – didn’t really get the fancy of doing much with them unless they were the only ones around.  You know? Percy and the twins were my favourites.” 

Bill’s hands clenched.  “Don’t you  _ ever  _ come back here again, Charlie.  If I catch you around here again, I’m coming after you, and I won’t stop until I get you…” 

“You’re letting me go so easily?” Charlie finally got to his feet so he could circle his brother predatorily.  “After spouting all that shit about how you were going to protect our siblings?  _ Denying  _ you’re only ever in something for yourself?  Bill… If you  _ really  _ wanted to stop me…”

Bill shuddered as he felt Charlie’s tongue lick his earlobe. “…”

“…You’d get me right here…  Right now… Wand or no wand…” He sucked the older male’s earlobe into his mouth before he continued.  “If _ my  _ wand is pointed at you or not…  You’d do whatever you can to protect them, no matter how badly it gets you hurt…  But instead, you’re giving me the option to run away… unpunished… No justice for Percy or the others…  No avenging them… Nothing… but  _ selfishness _ .” 

Bill flinched.  He looked to his feet.  “…”

Charlie sniggered.  “Some hero you are, Bill.  You run out here, and as I watched the way you tore the yard up looking for me, I thought you really  _ had  _ grown some spine.  I thought I might actually have trouble today, that I’d have to fight you off to get away.  Instead, I’ve been greeted by a  _ coward _ .  What a  _ disappointment  _ you have been.” 

“…”

“No, you know what?  Bill, go get me Percy.  At least  _ he  _ will fight me.  Or even dad. Go get both, actually.” 

Bill had no intention of saying anything back, but even if he had, he wouldn’t have been able; an unfamiliar voice called from down the hill behind Charlie, hiding them from view, and as Bill tensed, preparing himself to defend in whatever manner he could, a stranger appeared.

Their dark, messy hair, untidy jacket and feral expression weren’t what alerted Bill the most; it was the memory of once seeing that face in the Daily Prophet many years back.  Bill’s eyes widened, and his voice was full of disbelief and  _ hurt  _ as he turned back to Charlie and whimpered, “You’re a  _ Death Eater  _ now?!” 

Both of them laughed, cold, chilling laughs that shook Bill to his very core.  Charlie’s eyes glinted maliciously as he shrugged. “Who said anything about Death Eaters?  Where’s your mind at, big brother? Still lost? Need to go to St. Mungo’s for another year?” 

Bill pointed at the dark-haired male.  “That’s a  _ Death Eater,  _ Charlie!  Are you stupid?!  Get away from him!” 

Charlie couldn’t have laughed any harder than he was now after Bill had grabbed his jacket and thrown him to the ground so the oldest sibling could stand between he and his companion.  Between his roar of laughter, he finally forced out, “I  _ know  _ he’s a Death Eater!  Never said I was one, though!”

Trying his best to keep his eyes on the other at the same time, Bill crouched down to rip his brother’s sleeves up past his elbow.  He let out a breath of relief as he found no evidence of any Dark Marks, but still, the question remained; why was Charlie hanging around with  _ Death Eaters _ ?  

Finally, Charlie’s laughing fit died down, and he jabbed his thumb lazily at the dark-haired male.  “Like I said; I’m no Death Eater – just fucking around with one.” 

Bill felt as if the world around him stopped once he had processed the words.  His baby brother… sleeping with  _ Death Eaters _ …  

“Hey!  Come back!” 

Bill barely heard the two yelling at him as he sprinted back down the hill to get away from them and into the house.  He locked every door and window he passed, hoping with his entire being that Arthur was home from work by now – and to his relief, he found his father, standing with Molly in the twins’ room as they sat by Fred’s bed, patting his hair as they comforted him through his sedation.

“Dad!” 

It must have been Bill’s utter panic that had Arthur to his feet and on high alert.  He grabbed Bill’s shoulders and stared directly into his son’s eyes. “What is it? What’s happened?” 

“Charlie’s out there, and he’s got a fucking  _ Death Eater  _ with him!” 

“No one is to leave for the house for  _ anything _ !” Arthur shouted before he withdrew his wand to check their wards, and once he was satisfied, he Apparated on the spot.  When he came back an hour later to report he’d found no sign of Charlie or anyone else, Bill didn’t know if he was relieved or dreading; on one hand, he was glad Charlie was gone, but on the other… 

Charlie was going to get himself killed, and that  _ terrified  _ Bill.   


	15. Chapter 15

Bill took a heavy swig from his beer bottle before he lowered it and sighed.  It wasn’t even lunchtime yet and he was already drunk. 

Within the next few gulps, his bottle was empty, and he threw it carelessly onto what had once been Charlie’s side of the room before he stumbled out of bed and found himself in the kitchen so he could get another bottle from the fridge.

“Bill, are you drunk?” 

Was it the fact that he was drunk or overthinking that had caused him to miss Harry, Ron and Ginny sitting at the dining table together?  He didn’t know, but the more he pondered the question, the more the aching in his mind started up again, and that was what he had been drinking so heavily to forget.  

He sighed.  “I’m not drunk.  Why would I be drunk?  It’s ten am.” 

Ron flinched when Bill came crashing down to the floor, apparently unable to hold himself up without the support of the fridge he had just let go of.  He sighed and moved to help his brother. “Because you’re  _ always  _ drunk, Bill.  Ever since… Charlie came back, you’ve been drinking yourself into an early grave…” 

Bill winced.  “Don’t say that name…” 

Ron looked helplessly at the other two, and when they looked just as stunned as he, he whispered back, “ _ Charlie  _ is a nutter, and the rest of us are  _ glad  _ he’s gone.  So why do you care what happens to him?”

Bill frowned.  In his drunken state, he murmured, “I miss him…” 

The look of betrayal on Ron’s face was clear, even in the older male’s hazy state.  His mouth opened and closed wordlessly several times before he finally spat out, “ _ Charlie  _ is a  _ fuckwit,  _ and I hope he gets himself killed.”

“Don’t say that…” Bill curled up into a ball.  “Oh, don’t say that about him…”

Finally, Ginny spoke.  “He doesn’t know what he’s saying, Ron; he’s way too drunk.  He’s probably just blathering on and doesn’t even realise what’s coming out of his mouth; there’s no  _ way  _ he could care about Charlie after everything that happened.” 

Ron gave a stiff nod.  “You’re right, Gin. Sorry for getting pissed, Bill…  Harry, Ginny; help me get him to the couch.” 

It was a team effort to get Bill’s solid weight out of the kitchen and into the living room, but finally, once they’d deposited him on the couch and brought him down a blanket, Ginny sat by him and stroked her fingers through his long hair while Harry and Ron disappeared upstairs, probably to discuss everything that had happened.

Ginny, however, wasn’t as thick as the rest of her siblings were at times.  She looked around to make sure they were alone before she whispered, “You miss him…  You drink because you won’t admit it to yourself… You’re  _ worried  _ about him…”

Bill’s mind was foggy as he rolled himself onto his side so he could drop his head onto his sister’s lap.  He sighed. “…I… don’t know… Some days I think I hate him… But others I think I worry about him…”

“You won’t move on, Bill.” Ginny’s fingers froze in their ministration so she could center herself for what she was about to say.  “You won’t move on because you can’t let go… I don’t know what exactly you’re gripping onto, but it’s keeping you here… You’re hurting yourself, Bill…  Please, just… Just  _ stop _ …”

Bill lifted his head slightly so he could lock gazes with Ginny.  His expression was agonized as he whispered, “What aren’t I letting go of…?”

“I don’t know…  But it isn’t healthy…” Ginny wished she could have said more, but before she could, Bill’s eyes had closed and he’d passed out on her lap.  She made a mental note to inform Molly that Bill’s alcoholism was only getting worse as she carefully slid herself out from beneath him; at the rate her brother was going, he couldn’t get much worse.

She made her way upstairs, but she passed her own bedroom in favour of going to Percy’s.  She knocked on the door; though their parents weren’t home and he had been left in charge – for obvious reasons – none of the younger ones had so much as heard from him since the morning previous.  

“Percy?” She knocked again, but just like last time, he didn’t make a sound.  She tried to open the door, but it had been locked with a strong spell, and Bill was the only one in the house who was allowed to use magic.  

But she was getting worried; it wasn’t like Percy to stay silent  _ this  _ long when someone was at his door…  He’d usually have told them to bugger off by now if he wanted to be left alone.  

Screw what the Ministry would say; she grabbed her wand from her pocket, and with one simple spell, she unlocked it and stepped aside.  At first she thought he wasn’t even in the room and that he must have gone somewhere without telling them, but then she noticed his hair poking out from under his blankets.  She swallowed heavily as she tiptoed closer. 

“Percy…?” She reached out, and though she had grabbed the blankets, she wasn’t sure she wanted to pull them back; what was she going to find under there…?  “Percy, are you okay…?”

She yanked them back in one swift movement, but still, Percy laid completely still.  His eyes stared straight ahead, unfazed by the intrusion, and she raised her hand to her mouth; he couldn’t be…

“What are you doing in here…?” 

She jumped, so surprised by his voice; she’d been convinced he was dead.  “Percy… I thought you were dead…”

“No…” Still, Percy didn’t move.  “…Just wished I was…” 

Ginny closed her eyes in resignation.  “He hurt you so much…”

Finally, Percy moved his eyes to meet his sister’s.  “Not in the way he did to George, at least… He just…  He had…  _ different  _ ways of hurting me…”

Ginny knew; she’d heard it far too many times.  “He played with your emotions… Your head…”

“Yeah…  I guess he got what he was after in the end, though; I feel as horrible about myself as he wanted me to…”

“Percy…”

“Why are you  _ here _ ?” He repeated again, this time much harder, almost as if he were angry about her presence.  “You should be leaving me alone like everyone else does.”

“Percy, we don’t leave you alon –“

“-You  _ do _ !  The lot of you!  If it isn’t Fred and George, it’s Bill – but  _ never  _ me!  No one ever comes in to check on me!  If I killed myself this morning like I wanted to I wouldn’t have even been found for  _ hours _ !  Maybe not even days!  Just leave me alone!” 

Ginny was taken aback; Percy didn’t usually lose his temper like this – but then, she supposed, he was probably at the end of everything he could handle.  “Percy…”

“Just leave me alone to die!” His eyes filled with tears now, and he was back to whispering.  “ _ Please _ …”

Ginny did the only thing she could think of doing; she wrapped her arms around Percy’s neck and held on for dear life, hoping it would bring him comfort like it had her whenever Charlie had finished and she went to Bill for comfort.  She felt the older male try and pull away from the embrace, but she wouldn’t let him go; she only tightened her hold until finally, he gave up fighting and allowed himself to be comforted. He cried quietly onto her shoulder, but that was a good thing; she knew he would never let himself cry thanks to Charlie, so this was quite possibly the first time in  _ years  _ he was letting everything bottled up  _ out.   _

“Charlie’s gone,” she reminded him with a whisper.  “He’s gone, and hopefully he’s never coming back.” 

“He  _ will  _ come back…” Percy muttered.  “You  _ know  _ he will…  He can’t get enough of it…  He’ll be back…”

“You don’t know that.” 

“No…  But I  _ do  _ know that if I ever find him, I’ll…” His fingers tightened onto her shoulders, digging deep into her skin.  “…I’ll make him suffer, Ginny… I’ll make him  _ regret  _ everything he did…  Especially to you younger four…  He’ll wish he  _ never  _ laid a  _ finger  _ on any of you…”

Ginny felt him finally pull away.  “Percy… He  _ wants  _ you to feel that kind of emotion…”

“And he  _ succeeded,  _ didn’t he?!” Percy wiped the tears from his eyes.  “…Ginny… Please leave me alone… I need to… finish my application letter for the Ministry…”

Ginny nodded.  She didn’t question her brother; she just got up and left with a quiet farewell.  

And that… was the last time she ever saw him.    

 

* * *

 

When Bill woke up again, it was late afternoon and to Fred’s screaming.  He groaned as his head pounded furiously, but he knew the cause of his throbbing head wasn’t going to stop if he ignored it; he’d have to get up and quieten Fred down or everything was only going to worsen.  

“Oh…” He groaned as he got to his feet and traversed the staircases until he finally reached their bedroom.  He didn’t know where Percy was; Molly had told him before she’d left that Percy was to be in charge for the day, so wherever he was, he wasn’t doing a very good job.  “Damnit, Perce…”

He didn’t get a chance to open the door because, before he’d even put his hand on the doorknob, Ron and Harry had come down from Ron’s room.  Ron gave him a worried look.

“It’s okay, Bill,” his brother promised.  “Go back downstairs or he’s going to hurt your head more.  He’s screaming because George came upstairs with us while he slept.  We’ll calm him down for you.” 

Bill mumbled a thanks before he went to Percy’s door and knocked on it.  When no response came, he pushed it open and poked his head inside. “Perce?  You in here?” 

Nothing.  Percy must have gone into town, he considered.  He closed the door and went back downstairs, groaning all the while as Fred’s furious screaming only seemed to get louder in his anger.  He found Ginny downstairs, in the kitchen as she served lunch for them all onto plates. 

“Hey, Percy isn’t here,” he mumbled as he took a seat at the dining table.  “Where’d he go…? He was supposed to look after Fred…” 

Ginny cocked her eyebrow.  “How should I know where he went?  I didn’t see him leave. You know he barely talks to anyone these days; he’s probably always slipping out and none of us would even know any better.” 

Bill nodded in agreement.  “Point taken… Get me some water, will you, Gin?  My head is pounding…” 

“Well, maybe if you didn’t  _ drink  _ so much all the time, it…!  Sorry…” She could only imagine how much she had sounded like Charlie because the look on the older male’s face told her he’d heard that lecture more times than he would have cared for.  She grabbed a cup and filled it with water. “Here…” 

“Thanks…” He gulped the water faster than he should, just glad that whatever was happening upstairs was working in consoling Fred; his screaming was lessening bit by bit until he was shouting, and even that was slowly dying down.  “You going to get them for lunch?” 

“When Fred calms down; he’ll probably start screaming again if I go upstairs to get him.” 

Bill nodded.  He stood up. “Put my lunch in the fridge in the for me, will you?  I’m going to run into town for a bit. I’ll be back to eat shortly.” 

Ginny gave him a suspicious look.  “You’re not going to hole yourself up in a pub, are you?  I swear, if we have to come and find you tonight… Sorry… Just…  Don’t be long – not if Percy isn’t here, too…”

The sudden look of anxiety on her face that went as soon as it had came told him what he needed to know; she was nervous of being left alone in case Charlie came back…  Through his headache, he grabbed his sister’s cheeks and leant down to kiss her forehead. “I won’t be long. I promise.” 

Ginny nodded, but she didn’t smile – she didn’t even look  _ relieved _ .  She simply went back to putting everyone’s portions on their plates and ignored him as he got himself ready to Apparate.  

But somehow, he had a feeling that when he’d get back, no one was going to be very pleased to see him.  

He stumbled back into the Burrow long past nightfall, drunk out of his mind.  His family were gathered in the living room, seemingly in an anxious state as they had waited for him to get back.  While Molly stopped fumbling with her hands and had ran to hug him tight, Arthur gave him a broken look, Ginny looked hurt and  _ angry,  _ Ron and Harry looked relieved, and the twins just looked  _ scared _ .  

Fred was the first of his siblings to speak.  He kept smoothening out George’s shirt as he whimpered, “We thought…  _ he  _ got you, Bill…  He got Percy, too…” 

Bill’s eyes widened.  “ _ What?! _ ” 

Arthur shook his head, and Bill couldn’t decipher the look on his face as he gave the twins a frustrated look.  “ _ No one  _ has gotten Percy, Fred; he’s going to be just fine – he’s probably at a friend’s house.” 

The older twin spoke the words no one else wanted to acknowledge.  “Percy doesn’t  _ have  _ friends!   _ Charlie  _ has him!” 

Molly groaned in frustration.  “Fred, we’ve been over this…! Charlie doesn’t have  _ anyone _ !” 

Bill, not wanting to be around the conflict, disappeared upstairs to his bedroom while the others were arguing amongst themselves.  He waited until he had gotten in and locked his door behind him before he reached into his pockets and pulled out a familiar baggy, one that he had seen all too often in the possession of his brother.

He pondered it, wondering why Charlie had always been so fond of drugs – but once he’d taken the white powder and felt as if his problems had vanished, he understood why.  He hadn’t intentionally gone out to come home with drugs; it was just that, in his drunken mind, he’d been approached, told that he looked like the saddest person they’d ever seen and they had something that would help cheer him up.  He hadn’t thought as he’d made the purchase; he’d just wanted the pain to stop. 

And tonight, for the first time in so long, it  _ had  _ stopped.  He laid on his back and closed his eyes, and with the sudden loss of the stress, he fell asleep instantly, finally unplagued by the things that haunted his dreams at night.  

 


	16. Chapter 16

When Arthur happily announced he had gotten tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, Bill had been excited for all of one minute before he came to a startling realization.  “But, dad… Why’d you get ten tickets when four of us aren’t going…?” 

Arthur tried to fight away the agonized look on his face and instead keep his smile up, but it was hard to do so when he knew just how right Bill was.  “Well, Bill… Charlie may not be here to join us, but we still have three others who may end up coming after all… I’m sure Percy will come home again soon; he’ll be delighted to go!  And even if we find George won’t be able to come with us, Fred still might decide to come, after all…” 

Bill winced as he looked at all the empty seats around the breakfast table; fat chance…  Percy had been missing for months, not a word heard from him or seen by anyone. And the twins?  …Well, they all knew there was no way they could take George to something so big in his current state; the poor thing would probably have a heart attack from fright.  Fred may or may not go with them, but it was likely whatever George did, he’d stay with his twin regardless of the World Cup. 

He was glad that the twins and Ginny were absent, at the hospital with Molly for the twins’ therapy session, because he didn’t want them to be around for this conversation.  “Percy isn’t coming back, dad… If he was going to come back, he’d have done so by now. He’s abandoned us…” 

“Percy wouldn’t do that,” Ron argued.  “He wouldn’t abandon us.”

“Take a look around, Ron.” Bill swung his arm around the room as if to prove his point.  “When was the last time you saw him? He’s  _ gone _ , okay?!  He isn’t coming back!”

Ron looked taken aback by how angry his brother had become.  He lowered his voice, and his expression softened. “Bill… For once in your miserable life… stop  _ blaming  _ yourself for everything…  You didn’t  _ tell  _ him to leave; you  _ tried  _ to be there for him.  Whatever he’s done… is  _ not  _ your fault.  Stop being so stupid and  _ thinking  _ about it all the time!  Ginny and I aren’t!” 

By now, Ron’s eyes had filled with tears, and despite the anger Bill felt bubbling away in the pit of his stomach, he couldn’t bring himself to yell again; his two youngest siblings were  _ far  _ stronger than he was, and for one moment, he felt envy.  

He stood up.  “Dad… I –“

“-All of you, get down!” 

Bill jumped at his father’s sudden yell.  He looked around, trying to find the danger, but everything in looked perfectly normal to him.  “Dad, what’s –“

“-Get down, Bill!  Someone’s messing with the wards!” Arthur had his wand out, but before he could even leave the dining table, there was the shattering of glass, and a large, lanky body hit the table and broke it to pieces.  It was the hardest thing he had ever done, having to abandon his own child in favour of running out of the back door to try and catch whoever was outside, but two loud cracks had told them they’d broken the wards just enough to have Apparated away.  

Arthur ran back inside, finding Harry, Ron and Bill crouched down around Percy’s bloodied, twitching body.  Bill was cradling his head gently as tears rolled down his cheeks, while Ron held his torn shirt in both hands, looking more helpless than Arthur had ever seen him.  Harry’s expression was full of sympathy, and once Arthur had come over, he moved so the man could take his spot.

“Percy…” Arthur’s hands shook as he reached out to pull Percy’s body into his arms.  “…Percy, what… What happened…?”

Percy was choking on blood.  They could hear the gurgling in the back of his throat, but he could still murmur out, “I got him, dad…  He’s hurt… Running scared… I got him…” 

Arthur could have burst into tears at the weak smile Percy presented him.  “Perce, don’t talk like that; you’re going to be okay… Ron, go alert a medic.  Go!” 

Percy choked again, waiting until the blood had cleared enough for him to whimper, “Careful, dad…  He’s with… a Death Eater… I’d have had him… but the Death Eater got me… I hurt him, though… I hurt him…” 

Those were the last words to ever come out of Percy Weasley’s mouth.  

 

* * *

 

Bill didn’t know what time it was when his bedroom door was opened and Molly stepped in; all he knew was that he was on a serious high, and his mother’s irate expression meant nothing to him.  He lifted his head weakly from his pillow to look at her, but the rest of his body could barely move; maybe he’d taken too much, but he wasn’t sure he even  _ had  _ a body left.

“Mum…” He dropped his head back to the pillow.  “…”

Molly’s thunderous footsteps as she stomped towards him may have sounded deafening to him under normal circumstances, but now, he barely noticed them.  He didn’t even feel the plastic baggy being taken from his hand, or see her accusing finger pointing at all of his drug paraphernalia; all he knew was that she was mad.

But the second she’d opened her mouth to scream at him, she closed it again and understanding crossed her face.  She gave her oldest son a grimace before she sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his hair. Her whisper was strained.  “When we brought your things back home… We found a heap of drugs… It was yours, wasn’t it…?”

Bill shook his head.  He stared up at the roof as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, and he replied distantly.  “Nah… Was all Charlie’s… Never touched any of it… This is… all new to me…”

Molly winced.  It made sense to her that what they had found in that house belonged to Charlie, given everything that had happened – she just couldn’t believe that Bill, sensible,  _ logical  _ Bill was indulging in it now, too.

…Or maybe, she  _ could  _ understand, and she just didn’t want to.  

“…It’s a stupid habit, Bill…  You’ll only hurt yourself more…” Molly stood back up.  “Please… Think about stopping it… We don’t want to lose you, too…” 

Somehow, through his drug-hazed mind, those words made sense to Bill.  The fact that his family was suffering, one of them just killed earlier that day and another MIA, bat-shit insane.  He didn’t even know what he was doing with those drugs; he was just taking them how he’d watched Charlie do so. “Mum…”

Molly turned around.  “Yes?”

“…I’m sorry…  I’m weak…” And with that, he’d closed his eyes and allowed himself to drop into heavy sleep. 

Molly wiped tears from her eyes as she hurried out of the room.  Bill was in pain, but she was starting to realise it was running a lot deeper than she had originally thought.  Bill must feel as if he’d failed as a brother, but here she was… having been failing as a  _ parent  _ for twenty-two years and being completely oblivious to it.  

 


	17. Chapter 17

The Quidditch World Cup had come quickly, and as much fun as it had been to watch, Bill was honestly glad when the match was over and they had returned to their tents.  His family and their guests were inside, talking animatedly about the Cup, but he had snuck out of the tent and headed down to the edge of the woods so he could relax by himself, far away from the stress of other human beings.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his small carton of joints and his wand so he could light one, and after taking a deep puff, he felt his stress ebbing away. 

He stared up at the sky as he relaxed and smoked slowly, but his peace was soon broken by footsteps approaching.  He looked to the side, and though it was too dark to see who it was, Fred’s voice gave it away. 

“I didn’t know you smoked weed.” The boy sounded so happy as he took a seat next to his brother.  “I haven’t smoked it since…  _ him _ .  Can I have one?”

“No way are you getting  _ any  _ kind of drugs off me,” Bill said.  “I’m sorry, but I’m  _ not  _ Charlie, and I’m not giving my little brother anything I may have.” 

Fred’s eyes lit up.  “You have more?  _ Please  _ share with me, Bill!  It’s been ages and I could really use something for my stress.” 

_ “No,  _ Fred.  You can sit out here with me, but I’m not giving you a single thing.  Do you hear me?” 

Fred sighed.  “Fine, then… Leave me to deal with my stress on my own, why don’t you…”

Bill couldn’t help but laugh.  He felt the younger’s head drop onto his shoulder and Fred’s thin body press up against him, and he wrapped his arm around the younger to hold him close.  “Nice night tonight.”

Fred nodded.  “Yeah… Great match, too, hey?”

“Where’s George?  He didn’t come with you?” 

“He fell asleep on mum’s lap; she was holding him and he just drifted off.  She said it would be the sedation exhausting him too much. She was getting him into bed when I left to follow you.” 

Bill nodded.  “He did well tonight.  We might be able to take him more places if we sedate him first.”

“Yeah, he was o…  Did you hear that?” 

The two of them looked over their shoulders into the woods behind them.  Bill inhaled once more before he nodded and replied. “Sounded like a stick breaking.”

They fell silent so they could listen closely, but when only silence greeted them, they relaxed.  They spoke comfortably about all manners of things while Bill finished his smoke, and once he was done, they went back to their tent to get ready for bed with the rest of their family.

While everyone else drifted off easily after the night’s excitement, Bill couldn’t sleep; he could only frown as he thought about how great it would have been if Charlie had still been with them to watch the match as well.  

They used to have so much fun together as kids, as close as two brothers could be.  He hadn’t really ever thought they’d drifted over the years – not until they were well into their adult years and Charlie had gone downhill so fast, he was like a different person.  

It was painful to think about what could have been had he told his mother that very first day he’d realized Charlie wasn’t well mentally; Charlie might have hated him for dobbing, but he could have put an end to his brother’s reign of terror before it even begun.  He could have gotten the younger the help he needed before it spiraled so far out of control, he wasn’t sure there ever would be any help for Charlie. 

His thoughts stayed that way until they were broken by the sounds of loud bangs and screams from outside, and after waking up his father, he got dressed.  “I’m going to see what’s going on.”

“Be careful, Bill,” he growled as he got everyone else ready to flee to safety if required.  “I’ll be with you as soon as I can.” 

Bill pushed through the hordes of people fleeing towards him.  He wasn’t surprised to find Death Eaters on the loose, and as he cut down as many as he could, he couldn’t help but keep his eyes peeled for Charlie amongst them; he was terrified of the idea that he was going to have to go up against his baby brother in a situation like this – and if it came to that, how was he going to react?  Could he do what was required? Or would he chicken out again, just as he had done most of his life when it came to Charlie?

He didn’t know how long it had been before the Dark Mark was cast into the sky, but it was enough to send the Death Eaters fleeing and clear the space so he could search easier; he couldn’t explain it, but he had a gut feeling that wasn’t going to allow him to let up searching for his missing brother.

“Charlie…?”  He kept his voice quiet, wary of any Death Eaters that hadn’t fled the immediate area and were hiding for a surprise attack.  “Charlie… Where the hell are you…?” 

There weren’t even many Ministry members in the area; most of them seemed to have ran off into the woods, chasing after the group of Death Eaters.  He’d wandered far from their tent, and though he knew he should be hurrying back to his family’s side to reassure them that he was safe, he couldn’t do it; Charlie was here somewhere; he  _ knew  _ it.  

“Confringo!” 

Bill cried out as he was blasted forward with so much velocity, he thought his leg had been torn away from his body in the explosion – but, after hitting the ground and looking down, he found it was still attached but was now a mangled, bloody mess that wasn’t going to allow him to walk until he could get it mended.  

Before he could even acknowledge his surroundings, arms wrapped around his neck and chest and dragged him backwards towards the woods.  He tried to yell out for help if no one had noticed the explosion already, but a hand smacked over his mouth and muffled all sounds he made as he was dragged quickly away from any prying eyes.  

“Hey, big brother.” Bill shuddered at the voice.  “Long time no see.” 

Bill’s lips twisted into a sneer as Charlie stepped out in front of him, but whoever was behind him still had hold of him.  He tried to speak past the hand, but it was useless; he was too muffled to make any noise. 

“What?  Not going to say hi back?” Charlie sneered.  “How rude. I leave for so little time and you’ve already lost your manners.” 

Again, Bill’s response was incoherent.  The hand was finally removed, and once he could breathe properly again, he spat out, “Don’t you fucking talk about manners when I was out there making sure you were still  _ alive  _ and then you come out and  _ attack  _ me!” 

There was laughter behind him, and hot breath billowed over his ear.  Charlie sniggered and gave a careless shrug. “I didn’t  _ ask  _ for you to come searching for me, now, did I?  You did that of your own free will – Barty just happened to want to try and blow your leg off of  _ his  _ own free will.  And me? I didn’t really care enough to try and persuade him otherwise as long as he kept you  _ mostly  _ intact.” 

“The hell are you talking ab –“

“-Hey, he’s got weed on him.” The voice from behind him was rough, almost feral to a degree, and Bill hated it  _ so  _ much.  “I saw him smoking some earlier.  He won’t share though; wouldn’t give any to the other kid who came out with him.”

Bill tried to turn his head around to see who had hold of him, but it only earned him a growl and fingers pinching his jaw line painfully hard as his head was forced back to Charlie.  “Get your hands off –“

Charlie’s shoe came out of nowhere as it kicked him in the face.  “Who wouldn’t you share with, Bill? You selfish brother. Who was it?!”

Bill whimpered as he raised his hand to his face to try and stop all of the bleeding from his eye and nose and lips.  He went to raise his other hand to point his wand at his brother, but it was quickly snatched away from him before he could get very far with it.  “…”

“Tell me!” Charlie roared as he kicked again.

“Owww,” Bill groaned as more blood fell from the side of his face.  “Damnit…  _ Fred _ !” 

The younger sibling growled.  “You wouldn’t share with  _ Fred?   _ You know how much he likes his drugs!  You’ve disappointed him, Bill! But then again, when it comes to  _ you,  _ he’d be used to the disappointment.  You probably can’t hurt him any more than you already have.  Check his pockets, Barty; what’s he got on him?” 

The other’s hands from behind Bill started fondling him to find his pockets, but before they could get very far, they heard footsteps approaching.  

“Tch…” Charlie sneered at the direction of the sounds.  “Take him back to the hideout.” 

And with that, the familiar dizziness of forced Apparition hit him hard as he found his new surroundings to be in what looked like an abandoned house.  He groaned as his face throbbed angrily. “The hell… Where are we…?” 

“Where I’ve been living since Egypt.” Charlie gave a deranged grin.  “Let go of him, Barty. He can make himself at home. He can’t go anywhere with all the wards up.” 

Finally he was released – well, thrown aggressively into the wall was a better term.  Bill fought against the dizziness before he cracked his eyes open to see who the other person with his brother was, and he wasn’t surprised to see that same Death Eater from the hill, looking as wild as ever with his messy, unkempt appearance.  He remembered the other’s name from the Daily Prophet all those years ago, Barty Crouch Junior, but what was even more confusing was the fact that the man before him was supposed to be  _ dead _ .  

Charlie pointed over to the particular spot in the dusty, run-down room, one with so much dried blood in the broken floorboards, it looked as if a massacre had taken place.  “Big brother, do you want to sleep in my bed with me, or do you want to sleep in Percy’s blood?”

Bill vomited at the question.  He heard the other two exchanging words as he did so, and then the familiar crack of Apparition.  Once his stomach had settled, he forced out, “Where’d he go…?”

Charlie sneered again.  “Getting back before his father realizes anything…  _ abnormal,  _ I suppose.  You know, I really  _ was  _ surprised when he told me you were there.  We weren’t with the other Death Eaters; we just wanted to fuck around with them a bit, is all.  He is, but I’m not a Death Eater. Now, where’s your weed? I’m tired, and I want a hit before I sleep.”

Bill didn’t even resist as his pockets were searched until Charlie was pleased with what he had pulled from them.  He rolled onto his side and laid with his back to the other as he glared at the wall opposite him, but once he heard Charlie moving around again, he looked over his shoulder.  He knew he was supposed to be furious, maybe even scared to have been taken as a prisoner by someone as deranged as Charlie – but instead, all he could manage was a soft, “You going to bed…?” 

Charlie nodded.  He gestured to the dusty, moth-eaten bed pressed against the other wall.  “Join me, big brother. Just like the old days~ I wouldn’t try leaving when I sleep, either – not unless you want to experience the most pain you’ll ever feel in your life.” 

Bill shook his head.  He watched the way the younger pulled his shirt from over his head, but once he’d seen it, he gasped and his big brother instincts kicked in.  He sat up and reached out to ghost his fingertips along the smaller male’s shoulder blade, the skin sickeningly green and looking as if it were rotting.  “What happened…? It’s infected; it needs medical –“

Bill’s words were cut off as Charlie spun around and elbowed him across the face hard enough to spend him spinning to the floor.  “Fuck off, Bill! You can thank precious little  _ Percy  _ for that one!  Bastard almost took my whole arm off; it was barely hanging on by the time we got it reattached.” 

Now that Charlie had turned around, Bill had a better look at him.  Fresh scars all over his body that looked to have been mended carelessly, also looking as if they were getting infected.  A large burn over his right breastbone. But all down his midarm and around his shoulder was discoloured scarring and angry blue-green flesh that made Bill think any day now his brother’s arm was going to fall off onto the ground.  

“Charlie…” Bill reached out again.  “Charlie… Please, let me help you…” 

Charlie shook his head.  “Even if I wanted you to, Barty took your wand – and you’re not putting a finger on mine.  Use my shirt as a blanket if you’re staying down there; it’s the best I can do for you.” 

Charlie was dead serious.  He’d thrown his shirt onto Bill and then clambered into the bed that could only be a serious health hazard, and he must have been out like a light as it didn’t take long for his usual snoring to start up.  But as Bill had no intention of falling asleep any time soon, he was awake long enough to eventually hear his brother’s whimpers and cries of pain. 

Despite everything that had happened, he still got to his feet and crawled into the bed that only made him feel disgusting so he could pull his brother into his arms and hold him tight, hoping that maybe… just maybe… Charlie had gotten some sense into him and things could be different. 

But, as usual, Bill knew it was all just wishful thinking.     

 


	18. Chapter 18

_ “Bill!  Bill!” _

_ Bill stopped at the top of his favourite hill and turned around at Charlie’s voice.  He found his your-year-old brother chasing after him.. He smiled, and once Charlie had gotten to his side, he wrapped his arms around his brother.  “What’s wrong, Char?” _

_ “Where Bill going?” Charlie’s hands held him back tightly, and he nuzzled his face against the older boy’s chest as he smiled brightly.  “I come, too.” _

_ “I like this hill, Charlie,” Bill explained as he stepped back to lead his brother over to show him the view of all the Muggle communities surrounding them.  “It makes me feel happy.” _

_ Charlie gasped in awe as his eyes fixed on the sight before him.  He finally broke his gaze away to look up at his brother and smile shyly.  “Bill… We play?” _

_ “Sure.” Bill’s eyes lit up in excitement.  “What do you want to play?” _

_ “Climb!” The younger threw his arms up in the air happily.  “Trees! Climb!”  _

_ Bill let his brother climb up onto his back so he could carry him back down the hill.  “Do you like Percy, Charlie? He’s so cute, isn’t he?” _

_ “Mhm.” With his arms wrapped around Bill’s neck and his head resting lovingly on his brother’s shoulder, he smiled brightly.  “Percy… Like. Like Percy.”  _

_ “When he’s bigger, he can play with us, too.” _

_ Charlie let out a squeal of excitement as his grip tightened briefly.  “Yay!”  _

_ Bill smiled brightly.  He’d carried them over to the trees and helped Charlie up first, and with that, they sat on the branch, laughing together and looking just like the close brothers they were.   _

_ But then, somewhere in between their laughter, Charlie fell from the tree, and his screams shattered Bill’s heart.  He got back to the ground as fast as he could to pull Charlie into his arms, and he’d never felt so guilty as he had when he held the younger’s broken arm. _

_ “It’s okay,” he promised, as he got Charlie onto his back once more.  “It’s okay; mum and dad will help. It’s okay, Charlie.” _

“Bill?”

Bill startled awake at the hand shaking him.  He pushed himself into a sitting position to look around the room, and the night’s events all flooded back to him when his gaze trained on the dried blood on the other side of the room.  

“You were crying in your sleep.”

Bill turned around to look at Charlie, his expression full of deep hurt as he hastily wiped away tears he hadn’t even noticed he had spilt.  “Really?”

Charlie shrugged.  “What were you dreaming about?” 

Bill couldn’t tell him.  He  _ couldn’t _ .  He wondered if Charlie was even capable of remembering those times – but then, after what he had grown up to be, he highly doubted it.  “Just… stuff…”

“About me?” Charlie moved closer so he could rest his head against the older male’s shoulder.  He smiled. “It’s okay if you were; you know I like it when you cry, big brother~”

Bill shuddered, but the action wasn’t  _ completely  _ unwelcomed, he was finding.  He frowned; was it possible there were still traces of love potion in his system?  He changed the subject. “You and that Death Eater…”

“Barty,” Charlie corrected.

“Right…  You and Barty…  How does…”

Charlie laughed.  “It’s not like you’re thinking.  He’s basically on house arrest! He sneaks out when he can, and we fuck like rabbits and all, but yeah.  Wish he could be, but he’s not here all the time.”

Bill didn’t miss the way Charlie’s expression darkened briefly.  “Charlie…?”

Charlie raised his thumb to his mouth so he could chew at his fingernail.  “Wish he could be, but he _ can’t _ …  When he told me he’d seen you at the Cup, I just…  It was the happiest I’d felt in a long time, knowing I finally wouldn’t be alone anymore…  Guess it was the same for him… Two pieces of a puzzle… just as fucked up as each other…”

There was bitterness in Charlie now.  The first unrestrained show Bill had ever truly seen that perhaps, Charlie  _ was  _ in serious pain.  He wrapped his arm around his brother’s shoulders and pulled him close.  “…You’ve never  _ really  _ felt like you belonged anywhere, have you, Charlie…?”

Charlie shrugged again.  “So what if I haven’t? Not like I  _ cared _ …”

It finally hit Bill, how Charlie had simply been so content in his presence, he’d gone straight to bed – if they were still in Egypt together, there was no  _ way  _ that would happen; there would be some form of abuse that would last hours until Charlie had finally gotten bored and gone to sleep.  

Instead, he’d only been happy to have Bill in the same room as him… 

“Charlie…  How long have you  _ felt  _ like that?”

Charlie completely ignored the question.  He climbed over his brother and got out of bed before he gripped the other’s wrist so tightly, it was going to bruise.  “Let’s eat. I’m starved.”

Bill winced as he was pulled through the doorway, expecting whatever wards Charlie had put up to kill him on the spot – but instead, he passed through effortlessly.  It would be okay with his brother by his side, he supposed, but if he were to try on his own… 

“Go to the toilet and do whatever it is you need to; I need to find some stuff for you.” Charlie let go of his wrist once they were in the living room and standing by an old, worn out chest.  

Bill didn’t question; he did as told, and by the time he’d come back, Charlie had dressed himself with a shawl over his head, thick sunglasses, and a charm to temporarily hide his freckles.  He was tossed a baseball cup that he knew Muggles tended to use. 

“Put all your hair beneath that or I’m chopping it off,” Charlie growled.  He pointed his wand to the other and charmed away his freckles, too, and with  that, he snatched the older male’s wrist again. “You try to Apparate or anything of the like, and you’re not going to get  _ anywhere  _ except lose some limbs.” 

For reasons he couldn’t understand, Bill had no intention of going anywhere.  Perhaps it was the oldest brother instincts, but Charlie needed him, and even with everything that had happened, he just couldn’t bring himself to hurt Charlie any more by abandoning him.  

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Breakfast.  There’s a café not far from here.” 

Bill blinked.  “You have money?”

“Barty takes it from his father and gives it to me to survive.” Charlie turned around to grin at the older male.  “In return for sucking his cock, of course.”

“It  _ is  _ a sexual relationship…” 

“Duh, I said that earlier, didn’t I?  Don’t you ever listen?” Charlie rolled his eyes.  “Anyway, we go here together sometimes when he can sneak away long enough – he’s been through a lot, you see?   _ Very  _ hard for him to come see me, but sometimes we get a day together.”

Bill had never heard Charlie talk so genuinely affectionately about someone before, and he felt a twinge of hurt in his chest; had Charlie… ever talked to someone about  _ him  _ like that…?  “You… You love him…?”

Charlie gave him a glare from behind his glasses.  “Shut up.” 

“You like him because he’s the first person you’ve met you feel you can relate to.” 

Charlie’s hiss became more urgent.  “I said shut up! We just fuck is all.”

Bill didn’t buy it.  Charlie’s manipulation and sneaky behavior seemed to have a suffered a blow after he’d deserted his family – probably out of practice, Bill realized, and if he could ever do something to help his brother, this might be the only chance he could get.  He fell silent. 

Charlie lead him into a café, one that wasn’t as run down as the abandoned house they’d been in.  They’d walked a long time now that he was thinking about it, and it was then he’d realized; this was a Muggle community, and no one here would ever be able to help them.  

They sat down, and a waitress came over immediately to take their orders.  Charlie ordered for him, and with that, their attention was back on each other.

“So, big brother…” Charlie was grinning that malicious grin again, “…looking forward to living with me again?” 

Somehow, Bill was sure that, deep down, he was, and that was when he realized he was just as fucked up as his brother.   


	19. Chapter 19

It must have been something like a week before Bill was startled awake by the loud crack of Apparition in the bedroom.  He tried to squint through the darkness and see who it was; it wasn’t Charlie, because his snores were still loud and clear by his ear.  

“Who’s there?” If Bill had his wand back, he’d have pointed it into the darkness – but as it stood, if someone was there to hurt Charlie, he’d have to use his fists to fight.

“Oh, shut up,” came the semi-familiar voice.  Footsteps approached the bed. “You know no one else can Apparate in here.”

Bill relaxed as best he could with another Death Eater in the room.  He tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep, but it was hard to do so when the edge of the mattress dipped and then a thin – so  _ very  _ thin – body nestled on top of him.  “What the – get off me!” 

“You wanna sleep on the fucking floor?” Barty’s tone was threatening, and Bill fell silent; Charlie may trust the other, but  _ he  _ didn’t.  “Because that’s where you’ll be if you don’t fuck up.” 

It was understandable, really; the bed was already too small for the brothers to lay on comfortably, so trying to add a third body to the mix…  There really was no other option for Barty. 

Bill winced as he was elbowed unintentionally in the throat as the older male tried to roll onto his side and get comfortable.  He waited until the other’s head was resting on his breastbone and Charlie had been drawn into his arms before he muttered, “You’ve had plenty of chance to kill me; why haven’t you done so…?”

“Told him I wouldn’t…” the Death Eater muttered before he growled again.  “Though if you don’t stop your yapping, I never told him I wouldn’t  _ maim  _ you.  Fuck up.” 

Bill sighed.  Trying to sleep with such a scrawny body on top of him was difficult, especially when said body would thrash and writhe in sleep and kick and elbow and punch him unconsciously – but somehow, with two lots of steady breathing surrounding him, he eventually he became comfortable enough to relax and fall back into sleep, too.  

 

* * *

 

_ “Bill…” _

_ Bill looked at Charlie’s bed from where he sat on his own.  He hated to see the look of sadness on the younger’s face, but from where he was dressing Percy and brushing his hair for him, he couldn’t do much.  “What’s wrong?” _

_ Charlie groaned loudly as the cries from downstairs only voided him of more and more sleep.  “Bill… Make him stop crying…”  _

_ Bill sighed.  He passed the hairbrush to Percy before he said, “Charlie, can you finish looking after Perce for me?  I’ll go check on the twins. Mum and dad aren’t here so it’s up to us to look after them.” _

_ Charlie’s frown only grew further at those words.  He was tired of looking after their siblings, honestly; it always felt as if he and Bill were left to run everything because their parents were hardly ever home these days, whatever it was they were doing.  _

_ “Charlie…” Percy’s tiny arms reached up for a hug.  “Hungy… Hungy…”  _

_ Charlie nodded.  He wrapped his arms around his brother and dropped his chin onto the toddler’s head.  “Hmm… I’m hungry, too…”  _

_ Charlie hated knowing that, whenever his parents finally  _ did  _ get back home, they’d be too busy with the twins to pay much attention to he or Bill or even  _ Percy _ ; everything was all about those twins now, and Bill was about the only one who still paid him attention.  Percy did, on occasion, but he certainly seemed much more attached to Bill.  _

_ The crying from downstairs stopped after what could have been ten minutes.  Bill had prepared their bottles already, he supposed. He was glad it was just one twin because if it had been two, it would have only stressed him more – but that was how his mornings were getting lately; he’d be woken up far earlier than he cared to be by one of the twins crying – George, he had worked out; Fred seemed incapable of crying as he’d never really done so before – and then either Bill or his parents would abandon him to tend to them and he’d be  _ alone _. _

_ “Charlie?”  _

_ Charlie sighed.  Bill was calling, but it wasn’t because he wanted to play.  He grabbed Percy’s hand tight, hating to see the look of betrayal on the younger’s face; he wasn’t the only one saddened about the sudden lack of attention they were receiving.  “Come on, Perce… Breakfast soon; I promise…”  _

_ The two descended the stairs so they could enter the twins’ room, and just as Charlie had predicted, one bottle of formula was laying next to an unattended twin.  Bill smiled as he said, “Can you feed Fred for me, please, Char?”  _

_ Charlie nodded.  He took Fred from the crib and joined his big brother on the couch so they could feed their newest siblings together.  He couldn’t help but smile at how well-behaved Fred was; he was similar to Percy in that he’d never really cried much unless he’d been ill, but George… seemed to cry enough for the both of them.   _

_ “Aren’t they so cute?” Bill looked so happy with his youngest brother on his lap, feeding him his morning bottle.   _

_ Charlie couldn’t help but smile back.  Sure, they were cute and all, but… he just wanted to play with Bill, to be with his brother and have fun together like they always had until the twins had come along and ruined everything.  Maybe things would have been different if it had just been Fred who was born like they’d been expecting, but George had changed  _ everything,  _ and at that thought, the pit of his stomach swum with anger he’d never felt before. _

_ “Bill…?” Charlie flinched at the smile he was given.  “…I hate George.” _

_ Never in their lives would Bill ever give him an expression as shocked and agonized as the one he wore in that moment.  _

“Oww!  Watch what you’re doing!  Damn!”

“Sleep on the fucking floor next time if you don’t like it!” 

“ _ You  _ sleep on the floor!  I was here first!” 

“You wanna lose some fingers?”

Charlie groaned in annoyance as he opened his eyes and glared at the two on his bed.  He raised his hand to his head and, through his throbbing headache, he growled out, “Both of you shut up…  My head is pounding…” 

Bill frowned.  He whimpered again when Barty’s bony ass dug into his thigh before he murmured, “That’s because you’re ill, Char…  Please… This is a Muggle town; they’d know no different if I took you to a doctor…” 

“No!” Charlie hissed.  “No doctors! I’m  _ fine _ !” 

Barty reached out to press the back of his hand against the youngest’s forehead.  “You’re burning up. You got a fever?” 

Charlie shook his head.  “Someone get me something before my head explodes…”

Barty was the first to his feet.  He’d been gone for all of two minutes before he returned with Muggle medication.  He threw it onto the bed. “There.”

Charlie closed his eyes tightly, and his throat felt like it was on fire as he murmured, “Water…” 

Barty was gone again.  Bill pulled his brother into his arms and held him tight.  “Charlie…  _ Please _ .  Your infection is spreading…  You need a doctor…”

“Here; take your damn water.” Barty had returned with a glass of water in hand.  Bill took it from him and passed it to Charlie.

They both watched in silence as the youngest consumed the tablets and water like there was no tomorrow, and they held their breaths as Charlie laid back on the mattress, groaning loudly.  He fell asleep again quickly, leaving the older two to head downstairs into the living room. 

There was an awkward silence between them, neither knowing what to do or say now that Charlie was absent; Charlie had usually been the glue and helped break the uncomfortable aura – but now, they were both pointedly looking anywhere but at each other as Barty threw himself down onto the moth-eaten couch and Bill stood with his back against the dusty wall. 

They’d stayed that way for a long time before Bill broke the silence.  “So… if we’re going to stay here… Can I at least clean the place up…?”

Barty looked around.  The house was falling apart and really  _ was  _ as filthy as it looked – but even so, he gave the younger an annoyed glare.  “I  _ like  _ it like this.”

Bill knew to play his cards carefully; this man was unhinged, and despite whatever he’d told Charlie, he wouldn’t put it past the other to kill him if he crossed a line.  “Yes, but… it’s probably why Charlie’s so sick. You’d have wards up – keep this place hidden from Muggles, right?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well, I can clean it up – make it a bit more… livable…”

Barty’s eyes widened into a feral glare, and for a second, Bill thought he was going to be burnt alive – but instead, the other stood up and pulled Bill’s wand from his pocket.  “You’re lucky I have nothing better to do… You do the kitchen.” 

They’d worked in silence together, repairing the house into a semi-livable condition, until all that was left was to throw out the filthy furniture and replace it all with new instead.  Bill wasn’t going to push his luck and bring that up so soon, so instead he murmured, “Charlie said you can’t sneak out much…”

Barty grumbled something under his breath before he snarled, “Well, I can  _ now _ ; Voldemort got me away from that  _ thing  _ I am forced to call a father…” 

Bill raised his hand to his mouth.  His eyes widened. “…He… He’s back…?”

“Not yet.  But he will be.” Barty grinned, and then he laughed at the look of horror on the other’s face.  “Don’t look like that; don’t piss me off and you’ll live.” 

The room fell silent again, each deep in their own thoughts, until Charlie finally emerged from upstairs.  He looked deathly ill, and he said nothing as he moved to the couch to curl up against Barty and close his eyes.  Bill felt hurt, hurt that if had been a  _ Death Eater  _ Charlie had sought comfort from instead of  _ him,  _ but then it vanished when his brother waved his hand at him to invite him over.  

“Charlie…” Bill sighed as he joined the other’s on the couch, sandwiching Charlie between them as he wrapped his arms around his brother and resting his head on the small of the younger’s back.  

Charlie didn’t reply; he only closed his eyes and fell asleep once more.  

“I’m goin’ to sleep, too…” Barty announced as he dropped his head against his lover’s own and let his eyelids droop shut, too.

It was a depression thing, Bill suspected.  A severe depression that was in all three of them because, without any prompting, his eyes had closed, too, and the three of them spent the rest of the day sleeping.  


	20. Chapter 20

From atop the new couch he had finally convinced Charlie and Barty to let him bring home, he stared up at the roof as he heard said two yelling at each other.  He knew better than to get involved, so he stayed out in the living room, waiting until their shouting had morphed into moans and grunts and the old springs of the mattress squeaked violently.

He got up from the couch and made his way to the bedroom, and after pushing open the door, he peered inside.  While he was no stranger to watching his brother with other people, it was usually non-consensual and involving their twin brothers – so maybe it was because, for once, he was watching something they  _ both  _ clearly wanted, his pants tightened.  

“Do you always top, Charlie?” Bill didn’t know why he’d asked the question; just that he was honestly surprised he even received an answer in return.

“Depends on our moods.” Charlie grunted out a particularly violent thrust as his current lover slid along the mattress, his head hitting the bed frame.

Bill stepped closer.  He watched the two for a few seconds before he reached out to run his fingers along Barty’s chest in curiosity, but he should have known better; Charlie’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist before it could make contact; Charlie never had been one for sharing what was his.

“Charlie?” 

“You can look, but don’t fucking touch unless I tell you otherwise.” Charlie didn’t even look at him; he just continued thrusting away like his life depended on it.   

Bill moved to sit on the end of the bed.  He still had a good enough viewpoint to see what was going on, so he unbuckled his belt and drew himself out to stroke slowly as he watched.  He moaned softly at what was happening before him; the way they were both so raw as they clung to each other, nails digging into flesh and drawing blood, thrusting their bodies towards the other in desperate attempts to meet their partner’s movements.  Their mouths fought together viciously, blood from one or both of their lips splattered onto both of their chins and smeared around their upper lips. 

He loved that they were both so animalistic yet so…  _ passionate  _ in what they had together, and though he knew Charlie would never say the words out loud, he could tell his brother was probably the happiest he’d ever been with this man, so similar to him, it was scary.  

“Oh, fuck…” Charlie whimpered as his body stilled and he emptied himself inside his bed partner.  He groaned, collapsing onto Barty’s body as he tried to catch his breath. Barty, too, had come, and with his arms wrapped securely around Charlie, they both turned to look at Bill together, eerily at the same time.  

“Your brother is still horny.” Barty’s lips twisted into a sneer before he took Charlie’s ear into his mouth to nibble on.  

“Hmm…” Charlie let out a yawn.  “I  _ am  _ feeling a bit generous; haven’t gotten to watch a good show since I had my twin brothers with me.  Feel free to fuck him – but only for tonight; I hate sharing.” 

Barty climbed out from beneath Charlie’s weight so he could stand up and stretch before sauntering over to Bill.  He licked his lips as he took in the younger male from all angles, deciding that he really wouldn’t mind fucking the older Weasley.  

“Hey, you wanna do it?” Barty’s grin held a familiar predatory feel to it, but it didn’t make Bill’s spine shudder in disgust and anxiousness; instead, it made his cock twitch at the idea of sleeping with someone besides Charlie for once.  

“Why are you asking?” It was a genuine question; he’d grown so used to Charlie taking whenever he wanted, he’d almost forgotten that most people had manners enough to ask before advancing – the biggest surprise of the year was that Barty was apparently one of those people.  

“Because I’m not going to fuck you if you don’t want me to.” Barty shrugged like it was no big deal.  Bill’s chest fluttered with an unfamiliar emotion, and suddenly, calmness washed over him. 

“Do it.” And with that, Bill had been slammed against the wall so hard, the back of his head cracked against it.  He was sure he was bleeding at the base of his skull, but he didn’t care enough to check – not when he had lips crushing against his and hands were wandering his body so aggressively, it turned him on like he’d never been before.  

He moaned as lips moved to his neck next and teeth dug in so deeply, blood dribbled down to his shoulder.  He could feel the other’s hips pressed against his, Barty’s cock lined up neatly next to his own. He closed his eyes as he felt their hips being rubbed together, and he moaned again. 

“Fuck…” The older male’s hot breath felt good against Bill’s neck as stick-thin arms came to wrap around his back and hold him close.  

“Oh, fuck him already…” Charlie’s heavy breathing came from the bed, where he was sitting with his back against the wall and his dick in his hands.  “I want to see it…” 

Charlie was an aggressive lover, and there were no doubts about that – but the two were different in their aggressions; while Charlie was more feral and aimed to sincerely hurt, Barty was controlled and seemed to take note of his partner’s reactions, almost  _ careful  _ to a degree to not go too far.  It was arousing as all hell, and Bill was starting to think that if he wasn’t entered soon, he was going to come then and there.

Barty grabbed hold of Bill’s hair and dragged him back to the bed.  He forced him to lean over the edge of the mattress, his face between Charlie’s legs.  “Why don’t you suck on him and keep your mouth busy in the meantime?”

The stronger ginger did as he was told; he accepted his brother’s cock into his mouth without any complaint and sucked contentedly as Barty went about shoving his fingers up his ass.  

“Shit, you’re tight…” the Death Eater grunted.  “Charlie never loosened you up?”

Charlie sniggered.  “Of course I did! But it’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to fuck him, remember?” 

Barty hummed in response as he eased the third finger in.  He could feel Bill tightening around him, and he smacked the other’s ass.  “Relax! You  _ want  _ me to tear you open?  Because I can if you want me to.” 

From around Charlie’s cock, Bill hummed.  His eyes were half-lidded as he stared into his brother’s face, bringing his hand up to wrap around what he couldn’t fit into his mouth.  

His hum sent shudders down Charlie’s spine.  The younger’s hips bucked upwards, deep into Bill’s throat.  “You like that, Bill? Huh? What do you like better? Taking my cock or his?”

Bill couldn’t answer; he’d stopped in his ministrations as Barty slid himself inside in one go.  He cried out, but as painful as it was, it was nothing compared to some of the ways Charlie had fucked him before – in fact, compared to those times,  _ this  _ was welcome.  

“Oh, shit, he’s tight,” Barty grunted.  “I’d love to fuck him more often.” 

“If I’m feeling generous,” Charlie grunted back.  “Move already; let’s fuck him from both ends.” 

Barty was only too happy to oblige.  He thrust as hard and as fast as he could, rocking Bill deep down onto Charlie’s dick as Charlie thrust just as roughly.  Bill couldn’t explain why he was getting off so much on the rough treatment; perhaps he was just sick? A depraved, disgusting human who  _ belonged  _ with these two.  He slid his hand down his stomach and around his throbbing cock, squeezing tightly as he tried to get his body to fall into rhythm with them both. 

“He likes this,” Barty growled out.  “He likes being fucked like a common whore.” 

Charlie licked his lips as he watched the man bite down on Bill’s neck.  He reached into Bill’s hair and grabbed hold of it tightly, forcing his head to stay in place as he thrust his hips up again and again.  “Of course he likes it; I made him be that way.” 

Just as it had before, Barty’s hand swatted Bill’s ass.  Bill’s body jolted in surprise and pleasure, but the action was more than welcome; he almost came right there, and Barty knew it.  He drew his hand down again, keeping it up until Bill was a whimpering, writhing mess who was quickly coming on his own stomach. 

“S-shit…” Barty closed his eyes as he came heavily inside the younger male, his arms wrapped tight the other’s waist to keep him in place.

Charlie came as well, forcing Bill to swallow all of him until they were a panting, sweaty mess.  He watched the two oldest for several minutes before he moved to lay himself along the wall, his head on the pillow.  “Well? Don’t just lay there.” 

Bill hadn’t even caught his breath before he’d been grabbed around the middle again and thrown roughly onto the bed.  He was still breathless when a hot, sweaty body climbed up on top of him and, just as it had been doing every night since, curled up on top of him.  

He feigned sleep, seeing the way the two were staring at each other; there was unfinished conversation between them, and he couldn’t deny that he was worried – if not a little curious.  

He could feel the way Barty’s hand was stroking slowly along Charlie’s side, and finally, the silence was broken.  

“I don’t want you to leave…” Bill had never heard Charlie sound so insecure before.  

“I’ll come back at nights,” Barty promised.  “But I’m doing it for Voldemort. It’ll only be for this year.  Then you’ll have me back.” 

Charlie closed his eyes as he felt calloused fingers caressing his face.  He leant into the touch and sighed. “I’ll miss you, though…” 

“As I said, I’m spending my nights with you.  Tomorrow when you wake up, I’ll probably already be gone.  Write to me, but don’t use my name. You know what to do.” 

Bill heard his brother nodding against the pillow, and then the familiar sounds of them kissing.  He made sure to keep his breathing as even as he could until the lights had been put out and they fell silent, falling into sleep of their own.

So Barty was doing something for Voldemort?  What was it? But most of all… why did these two sound so pained to have to be away from each other?  They really  _ did  _ care about the other…  

Oh, what Bill would have given to have been a fly on the wall in their first meeting…  


	21. Chapter 21

Bill woke up to so much sweat, he thought one of them had wet the bed in their sleep.  It hadn’t been until he’d sat up and pulled the blankets away to see which one of them had done it did he realise Charlie was sweating so profusely as he trembled, his fever had skyrocketed since they’d fallen asleep.  

“Charlie…” Bill bit his lip as he put the back of his hand against his brother’s face, and it was to his horror he felt the other burning up.  He didn’t know what to do; they still hadn’t fixed the wards to let him leave without Charlie or Barty by his side, and if he tried getting out himself, he wouldn’t put it past the two to have set them to kill him slowly and painfully.  

“Mmm…” 

Bill looked back at Charlie at his brother’s pained moan.  He’d been somewhat okay the night more, his fever minimal and not bothering him enough to have a shouting match and then fuck around with the other two for a while – so what had happened to aggravate it all so quickly?  

“You need a hospital…” Bill looked back at the doorway.  His wand was next to Charlie’s beneath the younger sibling’s pillow, so he reached down to take it.  He got off the bed and dressed himself before he approached the door and ever so slowly extended his fingertips.  

He braced himself for what he was about to do.  He pushed his hand through the threshold and out into the hallway before him, but even that had caused such significant pain, he knew he couldn’t take that again.  

“B-bill…”

But Charlie needed him… 

With a deep breath, Bill back himself up so he could take a running leap.  He tossed himself through the doorway and  _ screamed  _ at the way he felt as if his flesh was being carved from his body, his insides melted, and stabbing sensations  _ everywhere _ .  

“F-f-fuck…” He lay on the floor, his body spasming violently at the pain, and he knew no matter how far into the house he got, it wouldn’t stop until he got outside.  His screaming continued as tears rolled down his cheeks, but still he got one hand forward, his fingernails digging into the filthy floorboards as he tried to drag himself down to the staircase.  

He’d tried so hard, harder than he’d ever tried at anything in his life, but it had been useless; he couldn’t drag himself more than a few inches and all he could do was lay there in a crumpled ball, screaming at the pain that only seemed to be getting worse.

But suddenly, the pain vanished.  He tried to look around and see what had broken the wards, but all his body could do was twitch with the after-shocks.  

“You didn’t throw yourself out there to get away, did you?”

Bill whimpered at the voice he was sure he’d heard somewhere before.  He forced his head up to the staircase, and what he found was a man so battle-scarred, his memory was jogged.  “Mad-Eye…”

“Of course I’m not!” The other snapped.  “It’s Polyjuice Potion! I had a bad feeling so I came back to check before leaving properly.” 

Bill whimpered as his body finally started relaxing.  He closed his eyes. “It’s Charlie… He’s in a really bad way…  I wanted to get him medicine… He needs it…” 

Mad-Eye – or rather, Barty, as he really was – narrowed his eyes.  “He’s survived this far without it; I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“No…  He’s  _ dying,  _ Barty…  Please… Just let me get something for my brother and I’ll come straight back…  I’m not leaving… I swear…” 

Barty watched him for several seconds with a stoic expression on his face.  It was when the tears started rolling down Bill’s cheeks and the younger  _ pleaded  _ with him did he finally grunt and take a step back.  He grabbed his wand from his pocket, and seconds later, he muttered, “The wards are down.   _ Go _ .” 

Bill couldn’t even thank him for that; Barty had Apparated so quickly, it was as if he’d never been there.  He pushed himself to his feet and staggered down the stairs. He didn’t know where the other two kept the money, but that didn’t matter; he had his wand, and this was an  _ emergency.   _ No matter what he’d be forced to do to help his brother, he’d make it up to the Muggles one day, but for now, he needed to help Charlie.  

Charlie’s breathing was ragged when his eyes opened for the first time that day to the feeling of someone putting him into a sitting position.  His vision was too blurry to make out what was happening, but he’d know the other from anywhere; his big brother was still with him, and that fact alone was enough to put a smile on his face.

“Bill…” His voice was hoarse and the name dragged out.  He reached a shaking hand to his brother’s blurred form.  “Bill… You stayed…”

“Of course I did…” Bill whispered back.  “That’s what big brothers are for…” 

“You stayed… and I’m such a horrible person…” 

Bill was taken aback.  He chewed at his lip for a few seconds before he murmured, “Don’t say that…  You’re not horrible…”

“I am…  You know it…” It had to be the fever talking, Bill wanted to believe, because the idea that the things coming from his brother’s mouth now were things Charlie had always  _ thought  _ was too painful.  “I’m disgusting… You’d be right to hate me…  You  _ should  _ hate me…  Why  _ don’t  _ you hate me…?” 

The older male fumbled with the water drip in his hands, trying his best to set it up how he remembered the nurse he had cornered had explained it to him.  “I don’t hate you because you’re my brother and I  _ love  _ you, Charlie.  Now, please; don’t talk; save your energy.” 

Charlie’s eyes closed again.  He swayed weakly as rivers of sweat rolled down his face.  His shirt slid down, showing the deeply infected flesh of Charlie’s shoulder that Bill knew was most likely so far gone, he’d probably be forced to cut it off.  “I don’t hate you, either… I didn’t hate Percy… I didn’t… hate…” 

Bill forced him to stop talking right there; the last thing he wanted was to be reminded of what had happened to Percy.  “Shh… I don’t want to hear it. Stop.  _ Please _ .”

The room fell silent.  Charlie whimpered at the prick of the IV being inserted into his arm, but he didn’t fight it.  Then he started talking again. “He reminded me too much of me…”

“What?  Who?” The older male was dissolving antibiotics and aspirin into separate glasses of water, his hands shaking as he did so.  

“Percy…” A single tear rolled down his cheek.  “We both felt alone… Abandoned… I was  _ jealous  _ of him…  Because though he felt so much like me, he didn’t turn  _ out  _ like me…  He was a much better person than I was, Bill…  I  _ hated  _ it…  He didn’t lash out, yet I did…  I was… I was  _ stupid,  _ big brother…  And it’s all my fault…  Tell mum and dad I’m sorry for what I did to him…”

“No, no, no; you’re going to be just fine and you can tell them yourself!” Bill argued.  His own eyes filled with tears. “Please…  _ Please,  _ Charlie!  Don’t… Don’t leave me…” 

“He was a stronger person than me…  I’m weak… And pathetic… Bill… Don’t cry over me; I don’t deserve it…  Look at everything I’ve caused…” 

“Well, if you just  _ hold on,  _ you can  _ fix  _ it all!” Bill shouted.  “You’re not going  _ anywhere _ !” 

“I was angry…  But I’m not angry anymore…  I’m going to die, aren’t I? It’s all I wanted for a long time now…  I’m at peace… so there’s no need to cry over it.”

“No, you’re  _ not  _ going to die, damnit!” Bill grabbed Charlie’s head and held him still as he forced his brother to drink, despite the way the younger only gagged and battled the nausea.  “ _ Drink _ !  Don’t you dare vomit it back up!”

Charlie collapsed back onto the bed now, too weak to remain sitting.  His breathing was getting worse. “Make sure Ron and Ginny know I always thought they’d do great things when they’re older…  I was jealous of that, too…”

“You’re going to tell them yourself, Charlie!  Stop talking like that!” 

A wistful smile crossed the younger’s face.  “I had a dream not long ago… about when I said to you… when the twins were babies… I hated George…  I think that was my first lie, big brother… I never hated him… I think I  _ loved  _ him…  And that’s why I… was so cruel to him…  I didn’t want to admit to myself… that I wanted to protect him…”

“Charlie…”

The younger gave an empty laugh.  “I lied a lot to you… To everyone…  But I never lied to anyone as much as I lied to myself…  I made myself like that because it was all I could do to protect my weak self…  And I’m sorry it caused so much hurt… Do you hate me for it?”

“No, Charlie; I could never hate you for anything.  I tried… and I  _ couldn’t _ .” 

More tears rolled down Charlie’s cheeks now.  “Good… Because I could never hate you, either, big brother…  You were… the only one who ever stuck by me… I appreciate that…”

And with that, Charlie fell silent. 


	22. Chapter 22

“Your fever’s gone down…” Bill pulled his hand away from Charlie’s face; though he didn’t know exactly how long it’d been, he did know it had been several months and they were still battling the younger’s infection with a mixture of Muggle medication, magic and wizarding herbs and potions he’d been able to scavenge ingredients for around the immediate area.  He grabbed the foam cup he’d put on the edge of the bed and showed it to his brother. “I’ve got you a banana smoothie for breakfast. Think you can stomach it?”

Charlie nodded weakly.  His face was still covered in sweat, and though he didn’t lift his head off the pillow, he allowed Bill to work the straw into his mouth and hold the cup so he could drink at his own pace.

Bill’s large hand stroked through the younger’s hair as he listened to the soft slurps before him.  “Can I take you to the hospital now, Char…?”

Charlie shook his head.  

Bill sighed.  “You’d get a lot better a lot faster if you’d let me take you…”

Again, the other’s head shook.  When he pulled his lips away from the straw to open his mouth and speak, his voice was raspy.  “No… No doctors… I don’t deserve it… You should have just let me die…” 

“I couldn’t have, Charlie…  Even if you’d  _ begged  _ me to do so.” He grabbed his own cup now as well so he could sip at his smoothie and stare down at Charlie in a pondering manner.  He pulled his straw away. “Barty was here last night. We couldn’t wake you up, but he was here. He had to leave very early.”

Charlie groaned.  He leant into the hand that was now caressing his hair.  “What did… he say…?” 

“That the Third Task will be tonight, but he’ll be back with you soon.” Bill sighed wistfully.  “Maybe you’ll get better quicker if he’ll be here to help look after you…”

Charlie forced himself into a sitting position now, and he looked troubled.  “Tonight…? Third Task…?”

“That’s what he said.” Bill sat on the edge of the mattress.  “What’s wrong?”

“He told me about it…  I have a bad feeling about it…” And then, for the first time in forever, Charlie’s legs swung off the bed of his own accord.  “I have to go to him…

“Hey, you’re not going anywhere unless it’s to a hospital.” The older male grabbed his brother’s shoulders and tried to lay him back down.  “You need rest. He can look after himself.”

“No, you don’t understand…” Charlie groaned loudly as the chills in his body worsened.  “I have… to see if he’s okay…” 

“I’m sure he will be, and even if he’s not, what are you going to do in this state?  Except make yourself sicker?” 

The younger closed his eyes.  He knew that Bill was right, but still…  He had a gut feeling about this… 

He hadn’t been the sneaky bastard he used to be in a long time now, and after meeting Barty and being accepted as he was, he hadn’t had need to be again.  It would take a lot of planning, but if he could find the opportunity to slip away when Bill wouldn’t notice, he could get a head start. 

The only problem was, in his condition, he was going to need one  _ hell  _ of a head start. 

“Big brother…” The manipulation flowed from his lips as easily as it had ten years ago, “…I’m tired…  Can I have another nap?” 

Bill nodded.  “Try and get as much rest as you can, okay?  You’re going to need it.” 

Bill leant down to kiss his brother’s sweat-soaked temple and then left the room to go downstairs and do whatever it was he’d been doing down there ever since the Wards had been adjusted to allow him through.  Charlie didn’t care what he was up to as long as he didn’t run away, but now that he was alone, he closed his eyes and begun planning out his scheme. 

It was once the sun started getting lower and lower through his bedroom window did he know it was time to put his plan into action.  With the crack of Apparition, he was gone, and Bill didn’t know any better until he’d come upstairs hours later to give his brother his dinner. 

 

* * *

 

“Charlie?” Bill knocked on the door to announce his presence before he opened it and stepped in.  “I have dinner; are you up to eating some solids today? …Charlie?” 

Bill knew immediately where his brother had disappeared to.  He groaned loudly; with Charlie Apparating in the state he was in, he’d be lucky if he didn’t splinch himself to death.  He put the food tray down on the bed so he, too, could Apparate as close to Hogwarts as he could get.

Once he’d arrived, he fled into the grounds, taking note that, for the Third Task having been in progress – or completed, he didn’t know – it was eerily quiet, and a heavy atmosphere seemed to hang over the school. 

He thought he could see the audience stands in the distance as they’d never been there during his years at Hogwarts, but they were empty, so everyone must have been in the castle already.  If that was the case, they were  _ too  _ quiet; there should have been laughter and excitement, gushing about whoever had won the tournament – instead, everything felt so suffocating to him, he felt as if he were choking on something he couldn’t understand.  

The castle halls were empty, and being a school as huge as it was, he really had no idea where to start looking.  He supposed the Defence Against the Dark Arts office was the best place to start; Barty was teaching that subject, so it would make sense that if he was going to find his brother, it would be there with the Death Eater.

He couldn’t get very far into the castle, though; a familiar voice spoke from behind him, one he remembered to be stern and proper, but now sounded so emotionally exhausted, their words came in the form of barely mumbled sighs.  

“You are looking for your brother I take it, Mr. Weasley…”

Bill turned around, and he frowned at the sight of McGonagall, looking as if she had been crying.  He treaded carefully here; he and Charlie were both missing persons, and he dreaded to think of how this was going to go down.  “I am…”

McGonagall closed her eyes in defeat.  “Come with me…”

Bill followed in silence.  He was in fact led to the Dark Arts classroom, but what he found inside, he could never have prepared himself for.  He stood at the doorway, gaping in disbelief. Charlie was indeed inside, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall as he held Barty in his arms, the younger looking as if he were in shock.  Barty just seemed…  _ blank,  _ but with the Dementor on the other side of the room and the hordes of Ministry employees gathered through the room, he could understand why.

McGonagall touched his shoulder.  “Now do you understand…?” 

Bill nodded.  He stepped into the room and slowly approached Charlie until he was kneeling before his brother.  He reached out to push the younger’s long bangs from his face. “Charlie…?”

Charlie finally lifted his head to meet his brother’s gaze.  Though it wasn’t very clear in his expression, his voice was bogged down with pain.  “I was too late… They took his  _ soul _ …” 

Someone approached from the side.  Charlie snarled and gathered Barty tighter into his arms.  “Piss off! Don’t come near him!”

“Charlie…” Bill frowned deeply.  He sighed. “Charlie, he’s gone… You can’t do anything for him; he’s…” 

“He’s still  _ alive _ !” Charlie hissed.  “He’s still alive, and  _ they  _ want to throw his body out like yesterday’s trash!” 

McGonagall came to their sides now.  For a witch as stern as her, she looked surprisingly compassionate in this moment.  “We don’t want to take him from you, Mr. Weasley; we want to get you medical treatment; you are very sick.” 

Bill sighed.  Charlie might hate him for this, but he was doing what he should have done fourteen years ago; he was taking charge of the situation and rectifying it before things got any worse.  He pulled his wand out and pointed it to Charlie, forcing his body to go far too limp for him to have any control over it. He winced as his brother howled when Barty was snatched from his arms, and finally, he confronted someone and stood up for his beliefs.  

“Don’t!” Bill pointed to Charlie, his voice heavy with emotion as his expression conveyed just how drained he really felt.  “Please… Let him stay with my brother…”

From over in the corner of the room, Cornelius Fudge gave him an incredulous look.  “Are you  _ mad?! _ ” 

“Minister…  He is no harm to  _ anything _ anymore.  He’s an empty shell…  Please… Let him stay with my brother…” 

Fudge looked furious, and though he opened his mouth to argue, Dumbledore’s voice from the doorway stopped him.  “Let Mr. Weasley keep him by his side; he came all the way here, after all.” 

There was argument over the matter, but Bill wasn’t stopping to listen to it; he only took Barty from the two who had snatched him away and walked him after McGonagall, who had taken Charlie on a conjured stretcher out of the room and up to the infirmary.  

Once they’d gotten to there and Charlie had been laid down on a bed to be assessed by Madam Pomfrey, Bill stood back with Barty and watched the way she ran around him, looking horrified at just how ill Charlie was.  

McGonagall turned to face Bill, and it was with the utmost sympathy she said, “We have alerted your parents; they will be here shortly…”

It was a scenario Bill had often wondered about; eventually getting back to his parents and letting them know he was still alive – but with everything that had been happening with Charlie, his brother had been his only priority, and he’d made no effort to get into contact with his parents once. 

“Do they know Charlie’s here, too…?” Bill frowned when he received a nod in return.  “This is going to be complicated, then…” 

He’d stayed with his brother.  He’d stayed with Charlie throughout it all, watching as the largely-infected area was drained and treated with everything Madam Pomfrey had.  He’d stayed as Charlie had yelled and screamed and threatened, and he’d stayed when the younger had finally fallen asleep.

His parents had arrived not long after, and though Molly wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and cried into him, Arthur conveyed a sense of pain and confusion, especially when he noticed Barty sitting silently beside him. 

“Bill, what happened?!  We were so  _ worried _ about you!” Molly’s tears came harder.  “Why didn’t you let us know you were alive?!”

Bill watched the way Arthur’s eyes moved to Charlie for all of two seconds before he turned his attention back to Bill.  “We spent a very long time searching for you, Bill… We were starting to give up hope we’d ever see you again…” 

He closed his eyes.  He couldn’t lie to his parents…  “Charlie needed me…”

Their attitude now changed completely.  Molly pulled away as if she’d been burnt, and Arthur grit his teeth.  It was Molly who growled, “After  _ everything  _ he has done… you abandoned us for  _ him _ ?”

“He’s my brother…”

“And he was hanging around  _ Death Eaters _ !” she roared.  “Have you forgotten what they did to  _ Percy?! _ ” 

“No…  I haven’t forgotten…  I  _ forgave  _ him because he  _ needed  _ me.” 

Finally, Arthur spoke.  “After what he’s done to your siblings, Bill, you should have left him to whatever would have happened without your intervention.   _ You  _ are more than welcome in our home…  But if you bring him anywhere  _ near  _ our home, Bill, there’s going to be trouble.” 

“He’s  _ family _ .  You can’t abandon him; that’s why he turned out the way he did in the first place!” Bill wasn’t used to snapping at his parents.  In fact, he wasn’t sure he could remember doing so before. 

Molly and Arthur looked taken aback now.  “What…?”

Bill frowned deeply.  “Neither of you were ever around when we were kids; he was  _ lonely _ !  He saw all our brothers and Ginny getting the attention and you barely had time for either of us!  Even Percy was left out in the dark! Who knows what went through their minds because their parents were never around!”

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ put this on us!” Arthur shouted.  “We didn’t abandon  _ anyone _ !  We were parents looking after our youngest children as best we could in between work and everything else we had going on!  Yes, I agree we should have been there more, but it wasn’t like we ever neglected any of you! We  _ loved  _ all of you!” 

Bill fell eerily calm now.  He looked back at Charlie and found his brother had woken and was watching them now with an exhausted gaze.  He turned back to his parents. “If all you want to talk about is how you’re giving up on Charlie, I want you to leave me alone.  It’s clear you won’t listen to me. Now excuse me; I need to see if my little brother needs anything.” 

They didn’t leave; they only frowned before they took a seat opposite where Bill and Barty had been.  They watched the way Bill knelt by his brother’s hospital bed and whispered back and forth with him, caressing his head all the while as he did so.

They didn’t know what to think; there was so much of the situation they didn’t understand, and they knew it wouldn’t be until they’d gotten Bill home and away from that monster would they finally be able to unravel the truth and the damage Charlie had inflicted upon on their oldest son’s mind.

Little did they know just how wrong they were.  


	23. Chapter 23

“Alright…” Bill looked around the living room of the house they’d been squatting in before he looked back to Charlie and Barty.  He frowned at the way his brother clung to the Death Eater desperately, despite the way Barty was now nothing but an empty existence – literally.  “How are you feeling, Char?” 

“Fine…” Charlie murmured as he took a seat on the couch and pulled Barty down with him.  “Just tired…”

It was understandable; Madam Pomfrey had only said that morning that Charlie was well enough to go back home, his infection stablised and slowly healing for good now.  Bill frowned. “You stay here; I’m going to talk to mum and dad and see if they won’t let you come back.”

“I thought we were going back to Egypt together…” Charlie frowned deeply.

“We will – as long as I can get my work back and secure another house for us,” Bill promised.  “Now get some rest. I won’t be long.” 

It was a quick journey thanks to Apparition, but he hadn’t even gotten inside the house before someone wrapped their arms around him and hugged him tight.  He looked down, finding Ron and Ginny embracing him tightly.

“Mum said you’ve been with Charlie all this time…” Though Ron sounded uncertain, Bill could still recognize the relief in his voice at finally seeing for himself that his big brother was just fine.  “He didn’t hurt you too badly, did he?”

Bill shook his head.  “He didn’t hurt me at  _ all,  _ Ron.  I’m… not going to promise that he’s changed…  I don’t believe he’s capable of it, to be honest…  But for the briefest moment, he was actually  _ happy _ , Ron…”

The two youngest looked up to meet Bill’s saddened gaze.  Ginny leant in closer and whispered, “What happened to break it…?”

“…He had someone very dear to him taken away…” The oldest sibling sighed.  “He found someone he could actually love –  _ genuinely  _ love – but…  They were kissed by a Dementor…  He’s still trying to come to terms with it…” 

Ron changed the subject; after everything that had happened, he couldn’t feel any empathy for his brother – at least, not so soon, anyway.  “Dad is still at work; everything that happened at the Triwizard Tournament has the whole Ministry working overtime. Mum’s here, though; she was with the twins when Ginny and I went out for a fly together.” 

Bill smiled, just glad to see that the youngest two at least were looking well.  He led them towards the house. “How are the twins going? Are they doing better?”

“Well…” Ron chewed at his lip as he tried to find the right words.  “…Better is…  _ subjective,  _ I suppose…” 

At Bill’s confused, concerned expression, Ginny cleared things up.  She wasn’t blunt about how she phrased things, either. “They’re quickly going the way of prostitutes…  The  _ both  _ of them…  Fred’s been sneaking out and sleeping around, and whenever he’s not here, George freaks out and begs for someone to… to… to  _ sleep  _ with him, Bill…”

“It’s because he truly knows no better…  He was  _ raised  _ for it…” Bill fought against the tears; he had to be strong.  “As long as Fred has stopped sleeping with him…”

“He hasn’t,” Ron said quietly.  “Mum and dad have tried so hard to stop it, but they can’t…  They might get him to stop for a few weeks but then it just keeps happening again..  It’s like he can’t keep away…” 

“I’ll talk to him while I’m here…” 

The three stepped into the house together, and as soon as they’d shut the door behind them, they heard Molly in the living room, yelling at who Bill suspected could only be the twins. “I’ve told you boys a thousand times, you  _ have  _ to go to your therapy appointments!”

“But we don’t need –“ It was Fred who was arguing the point, and that didn’t surprise Bill at all.  

“-Yes, you both  _ do _ !  Now the two of you go and get dressed and  _ keep your hands off him,  _ Fred!  If I find them on him again, I’m going to chop your fingers off!” 

Bill finally stepped into the living room, just in to see the way Molly pulled Fred’s hand off his twin’s hip.  He cleared his throat to announce his presence. “Mum… I hate to admit it, but I don’t think any amount of therapy is going to stop that…” 

Molly still seemed to be agitated, but she still smiled brightly for her eldest.  “What do you mean, Bill?” 

“I mean that by this point, I think he isn’t staying away because he  _ can’t _ .  He  _ does  _ love George, mum.” 

Fred nodded furiously as he gathered his twin into his arms and held him tight.  “It’s true! I  _ do  _ love him, mum!  I love him so much!” 

“You’re confused!” Molly snapped back.  “You  _ don’t  _ love him!  It’s the crap Charlie put into your head!” 

Bill sighed at the heartbroken look on his brother’s face.  He didn’t like it any more than what Molly did, but really… if they wanted to help him, screaming at him and making him feel bad about himself wasn’t the way to go about it.  “Mum… I don’t think he  _ is  _ confused; he doesn’t know any better, and if he just wanted sex, he’d have gotten bored of George years ago and gone for someone else instead – but he hasn’t.  It’s not right… but he  _ does  _ love George; I’ve  _ seen  _ it.”

Molly looked like she wanted to argue – to scream, even.  But she couldn’t, because she’d stood up and muttered, “I don’t have time to argue with you over this filth…  I’m already running late for my appointment… Bill, keep an eye on these two for me, and make  _ sure  _ Fred keeps his hands of George!  I’m at the end of my tether with this!” 

Bill looked at the twins as Molly departed via floo powder.  Fred looked relieved she was gone, but George just looked as nervous as he remembered the younger to always have done so.  He smiled at them. “You guys okay?”

Fred nodded.  He hugged George tighter as he sighed.  “Mum hates us because I love Georgie…” 

“She doesn’t  _ hate  _ you, Fred,” Bill promised.  “Nor do I, but I  _ have  _ to ask you to remove your hand from George’s thigh…  I’m sorry, Fred… But George doesn’t look like he’s enjoying it very much.”

Fred looked down at the blank face his twin was donning.  He moved his hand from where he’d been massaging the younger’s inner thigh.  “Georgie always looks like that when we have sex together. He likes it, though; I promise.” 

Bill wasn’t sold; he knew that expression because he’d worn it so much himself whenever he’d been with Charlie.  It wasn’t pleasure or enjoyment; it was total shutdown to protect his mind from breaking down with stress. “Fred…  Please…  _ Trust  _ me on this…  I  _ know _ .” 

“ _ How  _ do you know?” 

“Because I’ve  _ worn  _ that expression myself, so many times…  Please, Fred… You’re  _ hurting  _ him.  He doesn’t wear that expression because it’s a sensory overload for him; he wears it because it’s one of the most mentally and emotionally damaging things he’s ever experienced.  “If you love him,  _ please  _ stop it…” 

Fred didn’t understand.  He wanted to believe that his brother was only telling him this because he himself hated sex – Charlie had told him that – and was only trying to ruin it for Fred and George, too.  …But the look on his oldest brother’s face was sincere, and he lowered his head as he nodded in defeat. “…”

Bill was glad there hadn’t been a fight.  He looked at his siblings and gave them exhausted looks before he murmured, “Do we want to go back out on the brooms and have a bit of a fly until mum gets home?  I have to talk to her about something important.”

Ron and Ginny went with him.  Fred locked himself upstairs in his bedroom, crying over what Bill had just told him, and George stayed on the couch, still locked away in his mind and unable to take in anything happening around him.

He’d stayed until Molly had returned, all the while hoping Charlie wasn’t going to think he’d abandoned the younger, but finally, they were upstairs in Molly’s bedroom, talking away from the overhearing ears of the younger children.

“I know you said Charlie isn’t allowed back here, but mum…” Bill frowned deeply at the look of hatred on his mother’s face, “…where he is right now is  _ not  _ a good environment…”

“Well,  _ he  _ isn’t a good environment for the other kids, now, is he?!” Molly wiped at the tears that had already sprung to her eyes.  “Percy… Percy would still be here if it weren’t for him!” 

Bill flinched; he knew it was  true. “…I know… But mum, please…  I need to help him… I don’t want him staying at that place any longer…” 

“I don’t want him back, Bill!  I  _ don’t _ !  You think Ron and Ginny want to have to see his face again?!  What about George?! He’s making progress with therapy! You’ll put him straight back to where he started from if you bring him near Charlie again!  And I’m having enough problems with Fred as it is because of him!” 

“Mum…” Bill grabbed his ponytail and played with it in stress.  “…I  _ know  _ what’s wrong with Charlie now; they told me at the hospital it’s what Muggles call an antisocial personality disorder.  They told me ways I can help him – can look  _ after  _ him.  …I don’t think Charlie will ever truly change, but… if we give him the chance, I  _ know  _ I can help him to some degree…”

“Instead of helping something like Charlie, maybe you should have focused on your other siblings!” Molly roared.  “One is terrified of his own family, another has been accused of rape by multiple people, and another is  _ dead _ !  Because of  _ him _ !” 

Those words broke Bill’s heart, but he knew he couldn’t give up.  “Mum… I swear to you that it would only be until I can get us back to Egypt…  I can… I can make sure he stays in our room and doesn’t come out without me with him – or even he stays in there until no one else is home.  Please… I swear I want to get us back to Egypt as soon as I can…” 

“I said he is never coming back  _ near  _ this place, and I  _ meant  _ it, Bill!” Molly screamed. 

Bill knew he was only going to waste his breath.  He could understand why Molly was acting the way she was, but still…  Charlie was her  _ son _ …  

He stood up, tightening his jacket around his nutrient-starved body.  “It’s clear you aren’t going to listen to me… I’ll break the news to him, mum…  You just stay here and don’t worry yourself over what he’s going through…” 

He didn’t waste any time in Apparating; he landed himself in the entrance hall of the run-down house he was staying in with Charlie, and just to make sure the younger had heard his arrival, he called the younger’s name out.  

“In here…” Charlie’s voice came from the downstairs bathroom, and Bill followed it curiously; no matter how hard they’d tried to fix it, they had never been able to get the shower or bath working and had to take their baths in the river not far from the house.  

* * *

 

Bill entered the bathroom as well, finding Charlie staring wistfully at the shower.  He frowned; what he wouldn’t give for a nice, hot shower… “I know, mate… I want one, too…” 

Charlie sighed.  “I forget what it feels like…”

The older male wrapped his arm around his brother and held him tight.  “Tomorrow I’ll get back to Egypt and talk to my old boss… If I can get my job back, we’ll get a nice house as soon as we can.  I promise.” 

They left the bathroom together, heading back to the living room.  “So I take it mum won’t let me back…”

Bill shook his head.  “Don’t worry about it; I’m still here with you.  I’m not going to leave you.” 

Once they’d gotten back to the living room, Charlie curled up on the couch, next to a now-sleeping Barty.  He sighed as he got as close to the older male as he could. “I’m kind of hungry… Go get me food?”

Bill nodded.  “We’ll go get a bath later, okay?” 

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes, hoping to get a nap in before his brother would get back with lunch.  The only problem with that was, instead of a nap, he slept for the rest of the day and wouldn’t even wake up for dinner; his eyes remained tightly shut until the next morning, too depressed to  _ want  _ to open them again.   


	24. Chapter 24

Charlie had been surprised that Bill had been able to get his job back; he’d honestly thought that after everything that had happened, he certainly wouldn’t be welcomed back with open arms – but here they were, stepping inside their new home with what little belongings they had in a suitcase each.  

“Isn’t it great to be back in a clean,  _ functioning  _ house?” Bill felt the tension leave his shoulders now; no longer were they going to have to live in a ramshackle house that seemed to fall apart more and more with each passing day.   

For the first time in so long, Charlie’s depressed facial features morphed into excitement and happiness as he dropped his suitcase and run into the house.  “I get first shower!” 

Bill let him go; after being stuck in that house for so long, Charlie deserved a nice, warm shower – especially since now, his infection was almost completely gone.  He looked to his side at Barty, and though he wanted to smile, he could only frown; he’d suspected his brother would have gotten bored with the other by now, but instead, it seemed Charlie really  _ did  _ love him after all as Bill had never seen the younger display so much patience and gentleness to someone as he had been with Barty.

“You were lucky to have him, you know…” Bill reached out to put his hand on the older male’s cheek.  He wasn’t surprised when he received no reaction, not even eyes moving to look at him in response to the stimuli; he’d told Charlie several times his lover was brain dead and in a horrible form of coma, but the younger never wanted to listen to it or acknowledge it because even though it was cruel and selfish of him, he was sure that if enough time had passed, Barty would get better.  “He couldn’t even love his own  _ family,  _ yet he loved  _ you _ .” 

Still, Barty stared down at the floor, moving only when he was pulled by the wrist into the house.  He didn’t move because his brain was telling him to follow; he moved because, with the pressure from the front, his feet moved automatically so he didn’t fall down.  

With their suitcases in one arm and Barty’s wrist in the other, Bill passed the bathroom door where he could hear the shower running and his brother’s happy hums.  He didn’t stop to think too much on it; he instead opened the door to their bedroom and put the suitcases down against the wall. He looked around the already-furnished room before he murmured to the older male, “I already went and got all the furniture – less stress for you two.” 

He sighed as he was forced to take the man’s hand and lead him to the bed and push down on his shoulders to get him to sit.  He wasn’t annoyed or anything like that; instead, his heart was tearing; he’d never had a very good opinion of the other and hated the fact that Charlie wanted to be with someone like  _ Barty  _ – but at the same time, for what he was, Barty had never laid a finger on Charlie and had really only ever made him  _ happy _ .  

“I’m going to put our stuff away.  Just, uhh… keep comfortable…” Bill felt awkward.  He couldn’t take to Barty like nothing had happened the way Charlie could because whether or not Charlie was only trying to fool himself into believing his lover was perfectly fine, Bill knew better; there would never be any recovery from having had his soul sucked out of his body.  

He worked slowly, taking his time in folding their clothing to put away in the dresser; he needed the time to try and clear his mind.  Charlie was still in the shower by the time he got all their clothing away and had instead pulled out the baggy of white powder that only made him cringe; yes, he’d packed it along, but he still hadn’t made his mind up as to whether he wanted to continue taking drugs or not.  Sure, he was still feeling rather depressed and it was nice to know he had it all with him to keep him on his feet – but did he really want to turn into a drug addict? He was already borderline alcoholic and having been too busy with trying to get him and his brother back on their feet had drained him without access to alcohol.  

But  _ Charlie  _ would still want it, he knew.  It wasn’t like he  _ wanted  _ Charlie to be doing drugs, but with everything that had happened…  If it helped for him to take the edge off, it was alright. 

He grabbed the rest of the baggies from his suitcase and took them over to the desk.  He made a mental note to smoke a joint once he’d finished unpacking and see if it helped him feel any looser, but for now, he heard the shower turn off and Charlie’s humming was unobstructed.  

It didn’t take long for Charlie to enter the living room, looking a lot happier than he had in a long time now that he’d finally gotten to have a shower.  His humming never stopped as he made his way to the dresser so he could get his clothing out. 

“You really need to try that shower, Bill; that was amazing~” He’d dressed quickly before he turned around to see his brother fumbling with lighting a joint.  He reached his hand out. “I want one, too.”

Bill didn’t argue; his hand resurfaced with another to pass to his brother, and after lighting it for Charlie, they both moved to sit on the bed.  They were silent for a while, each doing their own thing until Charlie had put the end of his joint into Barty’s lips.

“Even if you get him high, he won’t notice…” Bill tried to be as gentle as he could, but when he received a glare in return, he sighed and allowed his brother to do as he pleased.  

“Breathe it… Breathe it in…” Charlie was almost pleading at this point, and it was enough for Bill to pull his own joint away and look at it thoughtfully.  

He didn’t want to become like Charlie, so addicted and dependent on it all, but he knew if he kept it up, he was going to be.  He wanted to be a better person, one who didn’t need drugs or alcohol to be able to cope. He wanted to be  _ strong,  _ strong enough for both his brother and him – but if he allowed himself to stay on this path, he knew he would never get there.

“Here…” Bill couldn’t look at the younger as he passed his joint over.  “Finish it for me; I’m… going to get us something to eat…”

Charlie looked gleeful at being handed a second joint, and he paid no more attention to his brother at this; he just focused on Barty and himself, leaving Bill to wander out of the house and into town to try and source out dinner. 

Now that he was away from Charlie and every other bad influence in that house, he knew what he had to do; he had to clean himself up, get himself back onto his feet first before he could worry about anyone else.  Once he was a stronger,  _ better  _ person,  _ then  _ he could help Charlie stand up on his own, too.  

 

* * *

 

“Hey, you want some?” 

Bill jumped at his brother’s voice.  He’d been on the brink of sleep, curled up beneath his blankets and his mind hazy from the sleeping tablets he had been prescribed a week ago by a Muggle doctor from the community they had just left.  He rolled over, not surprised to see Charlie at the desk, messing around with the baggies as he decided what he was in the mood for. 

He shook his head.  “No, thanks…”

“You could do with some loosening up.  Come on; just one hit and you can go back to bed.” 

Bill sighed.  “Charlie… I want to quit…  Please, don’t encourage me or I’ll end up taking everything you have there…” 

Charlie let out a surprised snort.  “Why would you want to quit? This shit is the only thing that slows my mind down.  If I didn’t get into this years ago, I think I would have killed myself.” 

“I want to be able to live my life  _ without  _ having to rely on it,” Bill tenderly explained.  “I just… I…”

“You’re pathetic,” Charlie muttered.  “Get up here and take a hit with me.”

“I  _ can’t,  _ Charlie.” 

“Well, if  _ you  _ won’t,  _ someone  _ has to!” the younger yelled.  He scooped up the cocaine baggy and moved to the other side of the bed so he could rip the blankets away from Barty.  His face was contorted with anger, and though Bill had sat up ready to intervene at the fist that was ready to be swung any second now, he didn’t need to; Charlie’s eyes had widened for one brief second and he allowed his arm to drop back to his side.  He dipped his head as he patted his lover’s head. “Sorry…” 

Bill watched in silence as Charlie went back to the desk.  He wasn’t surprised his brother wasn’t feeling enough remorse to forego the drugs; he didn’t think Charlie  _ was  _ capable of guilt and remorse and the things he apologized for were most likely only because he  _ knew _ what he had done  _ was  _ wrong.  

He laid back down and closed his eyes.  As he had promised himself earlier; first he would help himself.  Then he could spent an eternity if that was what it took to help Charlie.     


	25. Chapter 25

Bill sighed once he’d tied the loops on his shoes.  He looked up at the couch Charlie was laying on, the younger flipping through a dragon magazine lazily.  He stood up. “Char, I’m heading off to work. I’ll see you two tonight, alright?” 

Charlie nodded, but he didn’t otherwise take his eyes away from the magazine; it’d been so long since he could look at them, he had a lot of catching up to do.  “…”

Bill hadn’t pressed the silence; he’d walked to the front door, ready to leave, but just before he could go, he was stopped by his brother calling his name.  He turned around. “What is it, Char?” 

Charlie didn’t respond verbally; he crushed his lips to the older male’s own for the first time in so long, he was surprised by the way Bill gripped his shoulders and pulled him closer so desperately, their bodies brushed together with every movement they made. 

The older sibling came to his senses pretty quickly.  He shook his head as he pushed Charlie away. “Charlie…  It isn’t  _ me  _ you want…  It never  _ has  _ been me…” 

It wasn’t often Charlie was the one wearing the confused expression, but here he was, looking as if he were greatly trying to understand what he had just been told.  “What… do you mean…?”

“You haven’t kissed me  _ once  _ since you’ve been with Barty…” Bill didn’t miss the startled realization on his brother’s face.  “You didn’t want someone who understood you or loved you… You wanted someone who  _ accepted  _ you, which he had…  _ without  _ the obligation of being family…  He took you exactly as you were and built you up, but now that he’s…  You’re lonely… It’s not the same, is it…?”

Charlie shook his head.  He fought against the tears welling up in his eyes.  For the first time since the Dementor’s kiss, he finally acknowledged there was a problem.  “He doesn’t even know who I  _ am _ …  I kiss him… I fuck him…  He barely even  _ notices _ …  But I don’t want him to go; I want him to  _ stay _ , Bill…” 

“You’re still adjusting,” Bill said gently.  “I don’t know if I can be his replacement, though; it’s not fair on  _ any  _ of us.  Your feelings towards me were never truly romantic..  And mine… were nothing more than desperate attempts at giving you what you  _ wanted  _ from me…”

Charlie flinched when a warm hand settled on his cheek.  “…”

“…But I think…” Bill leant in closer, “…that we can both still learn if we try hard enough…  We can make something work… Because let’s be honest… I never  _ could  _ stay away from you, could I…?  I must be as masochistic as you are sadistic.” 

The younger laughed.  He nuzzled his cheek against his brother’s chest before he stepped back.  “You’d  _ better  _ come back, Bill.  I  _ mean  _ it.” 

To outsiders, they may have thought Charlie had reverted straight back to his old, controlling self, but Bill knew better; he was trying to joke, to make light of the situation – something Charlie hadn’t been able to do since he were very young.  

“Hey, I came back every other time,” Bill reminded.  “Tonight won’t be any different.” 

Charlie watched the other leave.  He waited several minutes before he went back to the couch to lay next to Barty and finish off his dragon magazine.  He waited until he had thoroughly scanned the very last page of it, taking in the image of the Hungarian Horntail before he tossed it carelessly over his head and onto the floor.

He sighed as he rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around his lover, holding him close as he nuzzled his nose into the other’s chest to inhale his scent.  His fingers found dark hair, and they threaded gently through the hair softened by the shampoo Charlie insisted on using in it every day. 

“Fuck, I love dragons,” he murmured.  “I want one so bad.”

As expected, no response came, but that was okay; Charlie was focusing on dragging his lips over Barty’s collarbone and neck, nibbling and sucking and biting as thoughts ran through his head.  He didn’t go any further though, as tight as his pants were getting; instead, he closed his eyes and made sure he was as close as he could be to the warm body next to him.

“Tired…  We’ll fuck after my nap…” And with that, Charlie was out like a light.  

* * *

 

“Charlie…  Charlie, wake up…” 

Charlie’s eyes opened to his brother’s hand shaking his shoulder.  He groaned, shrugging the hand away. “Leave me ‘lone… Tired…” 

“Mum’s here…” Bill sounded uncomfortable, as if there had been some sort of altercation during Charlie’s sleep.  “She, uh… wants you two to go into the bedroom because she has Fred with her…” 

Finally, Charlie rolled over and sat up to look at his mother, sitting opposite him on the other couch with a glare on her face.  “Why do  _ we  _ have to leave?   _ We  _ live here.” 

Molly’s mouth opened to bite back, but she quickly decided it was best to pretend Charlie didn’t exist; she’d turned around so that her second-born was completely out of her sight and she could talk to Bill without having to acknowledge Charlie, but in doing so, she’d created a situation that only made Charlie smirk as he looked to Fred.

The twin’s eyes were wandering Barty’s frail form, and once he’d licked his lips, Charlie gave him a wink.  He knew the look in the other’s eyes to be that of lust as he’d been the one to put that look there in the first place.  When he received a smile in return, he made a show of getting up to his feet and stretching dramatically. “Well, if you lot are going to be out here yacking, we’re going back to sleep.  Night, Bill~ Night, Freddie~” 

Fred’s hungry gaze watched the two leave, and as much as he wanted to go with them, he knew to give it some time before he announced he was going to the bathroom.  He didn’t, though; he’d found his brothers’ bedroom and slipped inside as quietly as he could. 

“Good of you to join us.” 

Fred’s mouth went dry at the sight before him; the older two had lost their pants somewhere along the way, and with one hand wrapped around his own cock, Charlie used his other hand to stroke Barty as well.  “…”

“What’d you tell her?” Charlie’s hands never stopped moving.  

“That I was going to the bathroom.” Fred moved closer to stand by the edge of the bed.  Though he instinctively reached out to replace Charlie’s hand with his own, his eyes stayed fixed on Barty.  “Can I touch?” 

Charlie nodded.  He kept his eyes on what his brother was doing, watching the way Fred’s fingers dragged down Barty’s chest and to his stomach.  “Talk mum into letting you come here for a bit; I’ll let you fuck him for me when Bill’s at work. Try to bring George with you; I’ve got a fun game for him in mind.”

Fred looked back to his brother.  “But we  _ are  _ coming to stay for a little while; that’s why I’m here.  Because she said I used to keep freaking out over you, and she wanted to make sure I could handle you before she left us here.” 

“You were freaking out over me?” Charlie’s cock twitched.  “Why?”

“I don’t know; I don’t ever remember doing so.  She said I’d freak out and scream and cry whenever I was reminded of you.”

The older male licked his lips.  He reached out to drag the tips of his fingers down the younger’s spine.  “Why’s she leaving you here? Thought she never wanted you two around me ever again.”

From where Fred had clambered up onto the bed to rub his clothed erection against Barty’s, he replied.  “She doesn’t, but she said it’s either leave us with Bill and have him keep you away from us, or leave us alone in the house for a week and kill ourselves.” 

Charlie sniggered.  “Go back to mum before she gets suspicious; let’s not ruin what’s already going to happen.  Before you go, though, I have something for you.”

Fred stopped in his actions to watch Charlie roll over to access his bedside drawers.  He was quickly thrown a baggy, one that he remembered so well from his childhood, and he couldn’t help but grin.  “I like you  _ so  _ much better than Bill, Charlie; Bill doesn’t let me have any of his stuff.” 

“That’s because I’m nicer than he is.  Now go, or you’re going to get me into trouble.” Charlie watched with hungry eyes as the younger left; what he wouldn’t have given to be able to have the younger with him for an hour or two – there was  _ a lot  _ of catching up they needed to do, after all.

“Oh, well.” Once more, Charlie rummaged around in his drawers for the lube.  “I’ve still got you, Barty. Let’s have some fun.”

Charlie knew how sick of him it was to still sleep with his lover like this.  He knew so many people would equate him to fucking a dead body, or raping him as he couldn’t consent let alone know what was happening, but he didn’t care; all that mattered to him was he could still get Barty off and have his own fun while  doing so. 

 

* * *

 

“So, what was mum here for?” Charlie played stupid, knowing better than to alert his brother to the fact that he and Fred had been in contact; it would start a lecture he wasn’t in the mood for.

“Mum and dad have to go away for a week or two and couldn’t find anyone else to look after the twins.” Bill puffed at his cigarette before he continued.  “So she came to me, saying she was worried they’d kill themselves if she left them alone too long. She wants me to look after them, but I have to be a miracle worker and somehow keep them away from you while I’m at work.”

Charlie laughed.  His fingers threaded through Barty’s hair where he had positioned the older male’s head on his chest to listen to Charlie’s heartbeat.  “It’s a pity you don’t trust me anymore; I’m a changed man.”

“No, you’re not.” Bill took another puff, this time deeper as his hands started to shake from stress; what he wouldn’t give for some alcohol right now…  “You’ve calmed down is what you have. Charlie… You are  _ never  _ going to change, are you…?”

The younger gave an innocent shrug.  “Big brother, would you hate me if I never did?”

“No…”

“And if you know, why aren’t you giving up on me?  Some sort of false hope that you might be able to make a difference?  Yeah, I’ve calmed down; I agree. But I’m still the same miserable, disgusting piece of shit I was before.  Don’t forget that, big brother.” 

There was something in that sentence full of self-loathing, anger and  _ pain  _ that had Bill freezing.  As if it were some sort of forewarning that, no matter how hard he could try, Charlie indeed would never be able to be trusted around their brothers.  He sighed. “Throw me my sleeping tablets, will you…?”

Charlie did as requested.  He watched his brother drink from the water bottle he kept at his bedside every night to take the medication, and once they were downed, he finished his smoke quickly so he could lay down on his side with his back to the younger.  “Are you mad, Bill?”

“No.  Just disappointed.” And it was true; he should have known better than to think he could ever help Charlie; Charlie was the way he was because of bad genetics and an isolated childhood.  He’d enabled all of his brother’s behavior to the point now where  _ nothing  _ was going to stop Charlie, and all he could do was be there to soften the blows when they came.  

He listened to Charlie talking to Barty until he’d finally dozed off into sleep, and his dreams that night were full of regret and pain.  Charlie had been right every time he had called Bill pathetic; he really  _ was _ .  


	26. Chapter 26

When Molly had arrived with the twins in tow, she hadn’t stayed very long; she’d said something about having to rush back home before she was late, leaving Bill to sit on the chair as he surveyed the twins on the couch opposite him, one looking rather content and the other cowering behind his twin.  George still associated him with intense pain, he imagined, and he couldn’t blame the poor boy; if someone had woken him up just to force him into double penetration without any warning, let alone preparation, he’d probably be scared of them years later, too. 

“I’m not going to hurt you, George,” Bill murmured.  He looked to Fred, trying to keep his voice as soft as he could.  “Fred, I thought he’d healed from that…” 

Fred looked back to his twin peeking out from behind him like a terrified child.  He took the younger’s hand in his and squeezed. “I thought he did, too. But he does things like that in new environments.  He needs to settle in.” 

Bill nodded.  “Charlie and Barty are asleep.  Show him around and try and get him comfortable.  I’ll go make breakfast. Have you two eaten?”

“Yeah, but I’m still hungry; we’ll eat first.” Fred got up to follow his brother to the kitchen.  He was so used to the way George clung to him, he didn’t even notice the other sticking so close to him, he may as well have been piggybacked.  “What’s for breakfast?” 

“I don’t know just yet.” Bill looked at his wristwatch.  “It’ll have to be something quick, though; I have to leave for work soon.” 

Fred took George to the table so they could sit.  “We don’t want anything too heavy; just light.” 

“Porridge it is.” 

Fred cocked his eyebrow in surprise.  “You don’t like porridge; you only ate it at home because mum would have force-fed it to you.” 

“I know, but it’s not so much breakfast for us, Fred; it’s so we can feed Barty.”Bill sighed.  “We’ve tried to feed him solids but he chokes on it because he doesn’t chew.”

Fred nodded in understanding.  “Georgie likes porridge. Georgie will be happy about this.”

It was horrible to see the way Fred still seemed to be trapped partially in the mindset of a child; it would be a different story if that was just how his brother naturally was, but instead, he was only like it because of the massive amounts of trauma Charlie had inflicted on those boys from such a young age.  “Fred…”

“Yeah?”

“…Never mind…  Can you go see if they’re awake?”

The twin left to check on the other two, leaving George alone at the table.  His body was tensed terribly as he stared at his lap, and Bill didn’t try and get his attention; once George had settled in and gotten comfortable, then he would try and talk to his brother. 

Fred didn’t take long to come back.  “Charlie’s still asleep, but Barty is awake.” 

“If Charlie is still asleep when I leave, can you let him know I’ve fed Barty?” 

The younger nodded.  He took his seat once more and pulled George into his arms.  “How long are you going to be at work for, Bill? Can you show us around town if you have time?” 

“I won’t finish until tonight, but I can show you around in the morning, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

They fell quiet until Bill had finished cooking the porridge and he’d served it to everyone.  He gave the twins their bowls and left his own and Charlie’s on the countertop so he could take Barty’s in the bedroom.  As expected, the older male was laying still in Charlie’s arms, staring blankly at the wall opposite him.

“Barty…” Bill tried to be as quiet as he could so he didn’t wake his brother up.  “I have breakfast.” 

Barty showed no acknowledgement, not even as he was pulled away from Charlie and into a sitting position.  He didn’t notice the spoon resting on his lips, nor when it was gently pushed into his mouth and twisted around to spread the porridge along the back of his tongue.  He swallowed instinctively at that, but otherwise he only continued to stare ahead until Charlie finally stirred. 

“Bill…” Charlie groaned as he stretched out his limbs.  “Is my breakfast done…?” 

“It’s on the bench for you.” Bill didn’t break his gaze away from the man he was slowly feeding – the exact reason why he’d wanted to get breakfast done early as he knew how long it could take to feed Barty properly.  “The twins are here. I need to work today, though… You can be around them, but I don’t want to hear you’ve laid a  _ finger  _ on either of them.” 

The younger snorted.  “George doesn’t talk and Fred won’t tell; you  _ won’t  _ hear anything from any of us, big brother.” 

“I  _ mean  _ it, Charlie.” He tried to make himself sound stern, but it wasn’t working very well.  “They’ve been doing well; I don’t want to see them go backwards…” 

Charlie waved his hand dismissively as he rolled over to reach into his bedside drawers for a morning joint.  He pulled an extra one out to pass to his brother. “Want one?” 

“No, I can’t go to work smelling like that, Charlie.” Bill frowned as he took notice of just how pale Barty was looking.  “Keep an eye on Barty today, Char; I think he’s ill.” 

Charlie didn’t respond until he had lit his joint.  “He vomited last night. I’ll look after him, big brother.” 

It was one of the few times Bill could trust his brother to be telling the truth; Barty was the only thing he’d loved enough to take proper, honest care of in so many years.  “And leave the twins be for a while; George still needs to adjust, and I’m sure he’s going to be very nervous of you.” 

“You act like I can’t be trusted with them, Bill; you’re hurting my feelings~” That playful smirk was back on the younger’s face now.  

Bill took the bait.  “You  _ can’t _ .  Now enough of that; can you finish feeding Barty for me?  I’m going to have a shower and get ready for work.” 

Charlie nodded.  He pulled his lover closer to him.  “Has he been to the toilet yet?”

“Not since I’ve been awake.  I’ll be back shortly.” 

Charlie had no complaints taking over the job of feeding Barty; it gave him plenty of quiet time to come up with today’s plan, and once Bill had finally left, he knew he could put it into action.  He finally got out of bed for the first time that day (having convinced Bill to bring him in his breakfast had been easy enough), and stepping into the living room, he found the twins curled up on the couch together, looking at his dragon magazines.

Fred was the first to notice him, and his content expression was replaced by one of immediate fear.  Charlie grinned; Fred hadn’t forgotten how he didn’t like his things being touched. 

The older twin took the magazine from George’s hands and slowly put it back onto the coffee table.  He looked at the wall behind Charlie as he murmured, “S-sorry… We won’t touch again… We promise…”

He laughed.  “I’m not mad.  But I have something better for you to touch.  Come into my bedroom.” 

George froze up.  He seemed to have retreated into his mind already because he didn’t move an inch and Charlie had to carry him bridal style into the bedroom to deposit him carelessly on the bed next to Barty.  Fred, who still looked nervous from earlier, was following eagerly. 

“Georgie~” Charlie’s tone was mocking as he mimicked Fred.  His fingertips ghosted against the youngest’s cheek, but for once, the touch wasn’t deceiving; it was sincere.  “Georgie, look at me~ Look at your big brother~” 

“That’s what he does now,” Fred explained.  “He even does it when he begs me to fuck him.” 

Charlie raised his eyebrow in curiosity.  “How does he beg when he doesn’t speak?”

“He grinds, but he’s never hard when he does it.” 

“How about we show him that he’s finally allowed to feel pleasure for once?” Charlie licked his lips.  He’d taught Fred that George wasn’t allowed any pleasure – that all he was allowed to feel was pain and humiliation.  “He’ll like it, I’m sure~” 

Charlie grabbed George’s hips and pulled him onto his lap.  He smiled down at the younger, observing how glazed George’s eyes had become.  “Look at me, George… Look at me~”

Again, George didn’t respond, so Charlie leant forward so he could put his lips against the youngest male’s own and kiss him.  It didn’t work, so with his lips pressed firmly against the boy’s, he slowly slid his hands up along George’s stomach and to his chest where he proceeded with rubbing gentle circles along the other’s nipples.  

Charlie locked gazes with Fred now.  His eyes were lusty as he husked, “How about you show me how good you are with your mouth, Fred?  I’m sure an orgasm or two will bring him back to reality – it’ll certainly loosen him up a bit.” 

Fred beamed at the thought of finally being allowed to give his twin pleasure; he’d wanted to touch so intimately for a long time now, but Charlie had always told him it wasn’t allowed, and he’d obeyed.  His hands shook with excitement as he unbuttoned the younger’s pants and lowered the zip; he couldn’t wait to finally taste his twin. 

“Eager, aren’t we?” Charlie smirked.  “I think George has been taught well enough his place, Fred; you’re allowed to give him pleasure now.” 

Fred couldn’t get the younger’s pants down fast enough.  He lay between his twin’s legs as he tugged them and his underwear down and off George’s long legs until he was presented with the younger’s flaccid cock.  He licked his lips as he reached out to grab it and drag it into his mouth. 

A startled noise came from George, and his legs twitched violently.  That glazed look in his eyes flickered for several seconds, but it still remained in the end; clearly he wasn’t feeling enough pleasure to break him out of the haze, Charlie concluded.

“Suck him, Fred.  Suck him the way you suck me off.” 

Fred had obeyed before the older male had even finished his sentence.  He hollowed his lips to create a harsh vacuum as he bobbed his head up and down so quickly, Charlie wondered how he had never gotten a headache from this before.  

It was enough, Charlie realized, as George started thrashing in his arms with loud whimpers and moans as his hips bucked upwards desperately.  The haze was gone now, and he instead wore a confused, not quite afraid but not exactly pleasured expression. 

“Is that good?” Charlie’s murmur was so low, it bordered on a whisper.  His hot breath billowed against George’s ear, eliciting a loud moan. “Does it feel good, George?” 

George squeezed his eyes shut as Charlie’s teeth nibbled at his earlobe.  He groaned, not able to respond to the question, but yes; it  _ did  _ feel good.  He’d never known something like this could bring him so much pleasure; it had only ever caused him fear and agony – but here and now, he felt so overwhelmed by these new sensations, he blacked out as he felt his balls tighten and something surge from the tip of his cock.

Charlie cackled as he held the limp body in his arms.  “He came quick! I think you overdid it, Fred.”

Fred was licking his brother’s essence from his lips, wiping at what he hadn’t been able to swallow clinging to his chin.  “He’s never had any pleasure before, Charlie, just like you told me he couldn’t.”

“He’s inexperienced,” Charlie agreed.  “But not to worry; I have something that will help him.” 

The older sibling passed George to Fred so he could roll over and grab a bottle from his bedside table.  He was quick to uncap it and spread the liquid over his hand; he was getting impatient, and if he weren’t feeling so generous, he’d have rammed into the younger boys already.

“What’s that?” Fred watched the way Charlie coated the liquid all over George’s softening arousal.  

“It’ll keep him up for a while,” Charlie explained.  “He’ll still come as much as he needs, but it won’t let him get soft.  I use it on Barty now, or else he comes as quick as George just did – shame, really; he used to last way longer than I could…  Okay, he’s ready to go again now. Pass him back to me.” 

Charlie took hold of George once again.  He positioned the boy on his lap so he was facing Fred, and though it took a moment more for his eyes to open, when they finally did, he looked as if he’d aged fifty years in an instant.  Charlie tilted his head to the side to look into his eyes, and he smirked as he noticed the dead look in them; George had become so used to all of this being an act of terror upon him, finally feeling pleasure from it seemed to be too much for him. 

“Don’t give me that look,” Charlie murmured.  He dragged his lips all over George’s face, kissing him slowly and gently everywhere he could.  “You  _ liked  _ it; your body never lies~  Would you rather me ramming into you dry again?  Because I can do that if you want me to~” 

No response came.  George moaned when he felt the other suck at his neck; he’d never known he was so sensitive to touch until now, but his body was reacting to it all in ways so new to him, he didn’t know if he’d be able to live without touch again after this.  

“Fred, play with his chest and stomach for now; I’m working my way down his back.” It was true; Charlie’s hands indeed were traveling down his brother’s body slowly, lower than his mouth, until he was caressing the boy’s sides and leaving gentle caresses in his wake as he traveled down to George’s hips.  

“Ungh…” George’s eyes closed, and his hips bucked upwards at the hands and mouths all over his body.  His eyes filled with tears at the overwhelming pleasure, and he had no idea what to do with himself at it all except to cry out loudly.  

“He likes it,” Charlie whispered to Fred.  “He’s such a slut.” 

Fred laughed.  “I know he is; he lets other people fuck him if I’m not there to do it for him.” 

Charlie reached across to grab the lube next.  He slicked his three fingers and rubbed them together before he responded.  “Let’s swap for today. I’ll have my fun with George, and you can have Barty for today.  I want to watch that.” 

Fred moaned at the thought.  He knew better than to act before he was given orders, though; he remained kneeling between George’s legs, rubbing his fingertips along George’s stomach.  

“Ahh!” George cried out as he came again, his hot semen spraying through the air and onto Fred’s clothing.  He panted heavily at his release, but just as Charlie had explained, he remained hard. 

“George~” Charlie purred into the youngest’s ear as he rubbed at George’s entrance.  “You’re going to go  _ mad  _ with pleasure at this~”

And he did.  After Charlie had slipped three fingers inside and thrust them in and out violently, George’s body spasmed as if he were having a seizure, and screams of unbearable pleasure escaped his lips.  Tears rolled down his cheeks as Fred took him into his mouth again, but it was too much; he blacked out once more with his release.

Charlie licked his lips.  He tipped more lube into his hand so he could rub it all over himself before he tossed the bottle to Fred.  “I’m gonna come in him  _ so fucking hard _ , Fred.  Here, you get ready to fuck Barty for me.  Give him some of that salve so he stays hard, too.”

Fred panted heavily as his shaking hands fumbled with both the lube and the salve; he had become so hard from all of George’s pleasure, he needed his own release.  He soaked his hand in the salve and stroked along Barty’s flaccid cock quickly until he was satisfied with how hard he had gotten the ex-Death Eater, and from there, he prepared the other as best he could – with the way Charlie had taught him to treat George, he’d never had need to learn how to prepare someone before.  

“You’re doing shit with those fingers.” 

Fred sighed; of course he was; it was his first time using them.  “Sorry…”

“Use your tongue; that’ll stretch him wide.” Charlie grinned.  He pulled his fingers out of George and flipped the boy over so he was laying on his stomach.  “Follow my lead. Roll him over.” 

Despite how sickeningly thin Barty was, Fred still had trouble rolling him over, but once he had done so, he took the other’s pants from him and positioned himself behind the older male’s rump raised by a stack of pillows.  He groaned as he watched the way Charlie easily slid his tongue into George alongside his three fingers, and though he was able to mimic the actions, he didn’t have the same ease his brother did when it came to swirling his tongue around on the inside and thrusting his fingers in and out rapidly to boot.  

It was the way George continued to scream out his pleasure that had Fred pulling out of Barty prematurely and sliding himself home in one go.  He heard Charlie growl, and though he knew he should be scared of his brother’s anger, he couldn’t bring himself to be; he was far too aroused to even  _ consider  _ what Charlie may possibly do to him.  

“If you’ve hurt him, I’m going to hurt  _ you _ ,” Charlie snarled.  He, too, had pulled away from George so he could flip him over again onto his back and line himself up at his entrance.  He slammed his lips against the younger’s, stifling his scream as he thrust inside even more carelessly than Fred had done so.

It was the sight of Charlie kissing George so ferociously as if he were trying to eat the youngest that had Fred’s eyes fixed on the two as he pounded away furiously, not sure if he had ever felt so turned on in his life before.  Though George didn’t return the kisses, he didn’t refuse them either, and with his arms wrapped tightly around Charlie’s neck as he held on for dear life, his body going through such intense pleasure spasms he could barely even breathe, he broke away from the kiss to bury his head against Charlie’s chest for comfort.

Fred moaned long and loud as George came,  _ hard _ .  He followed the example, not used to coming so quickly but unable to deny the surge of pleasure watching such a scene invoked in him.  

“You two spent already?” Charlie snorted.  “Fucking amateurs. No; George is still hard~  Good boy, Georgie~” 

George groaned as he was pulled into another deep kiss and the movements started again.  His body was slid aggressively along the bed until his head was banging against the headboard.  

Charlie’s breathing became labored and his thrusts jerky and shaky as his climax approached.  He groaned loudly once he’d emptied himself hard inside his brother, but there was no time to recover; he dragged George along the bed and laid him next to Barty.  

“George~” Charlie’s breathing was still erratic.  “I want you to fuck Barty for me and make him come~  Okay~?” 

Charlie couldn’t remember ever seeing George look so dazed, but here the boy was, looking as if he were concussed.  Charlie sniggered. He took the boy’s hand and tugged him closer to Barty. He forcibly wrapped the younger’s hand around Barty’s erect cock, and with his fingers curled tightly around the back of George’s hand, he forced his brother to move up and down.  

“See~?” Charlie purred into the younger’s ear.  “It’s nice to have a warm cock in your hand, isn’t it~?  Stroke him, George~ Make him feel good~” 

Charlie had almost thought  that George would pull his hand back the second he let go, but instead, George continued stroking, his cheeks flushed from what Charlie was sure was shyness.  

The youngest male was so incredibly gentle in his touches, Charlie almost wanted to reach out and force his hand into a tight grip – but instead, he watched, intrigued; there was something about George’s innocent touches that made him feel harder than he already was.  

“Kiss him.” Charlie couldn’t help himself; he  _ had  _ to see how his brother would kiss in a situation where he felt  _ safe  _ enough to do so.  

As expected, George was as gentle a kisser as he was a toucher; his lips were so light against Barty’s, Charlie almost thought they weren’t even touching – but then, just as he had been taught to receive, he tenderly parted the dark-haired male’s lips with his tongue and slipped it inside.

Charlie licked his lips.  He leant down to pull his brother against his chest and whisper, “Get inside him, George.  I want to  _ see _ .” 

George pulled his lips away from Barty’s so he could instead kneel between his legs.  He shuddered as he grabbed his own arousal, but he slipped inside easily enough, lubricated by the wetness Fred had left behind.  He shivered, knowing how much he hated that wet feeling inside him, but knowing the consequences of not obeying, he started moving at a slow, gentle pace.  

“Oh, f-fuck…” From where he sat not far away, Fred moaned loudly as he slid his hand up and down his arousal.  He’d never gotten it up again so quick before, but this was something that aroused him to no end. “Georgie…” 

Charlie moved to lay next to Barty now.  He pulled his lover into his arms and turned his head to the side so he could crush his lips to the older male’s.  He held the other in one arm and slid his hand around Barty’s body, caressing, while he used the other to take both of their erections together and pump them simultaneously.  

George never quickened his pace.  He knew how painful, how terrifying and humiliating this could be, and he couldn’t bear to cause Barty the same pain he understood all too well.  His breathing was labored as his movements became shaky with his approaching arousal but it wasn’t until Barty’s hot seed had sprayed over Charlie’s hand and his walls had tightened around the youngest could George finally come for the first time in his life.  He cried out loudly as his body went through violent spasms, until finally, he had collapsed on top of the dark-haired male. 

Charlie growled and shoved him off before he hovered over Barty in a protective manner.  “I didn’t  _ say  _ you could touch him so intimately, did I?” 

George completely ignored those words and instead dragged himself up along the bed and into Charlie’s arms.  He wrapped his own arms tightly around Charlie’s torso and rested his head on his brother’s chest, listening to the other’s heartbeat as he stared blankly ahead.  

Charlie gave Fred a confused look as he moved his arms away from George.  “What’s he doing?” 

“He does that when he needs comfort.”  Fred had never seen Charlie look so uncomfortable before, and he could only watch as his brother shoved at George to get him away. 

George, however, wasn’t going to leave the other; he only clung tighter until Charlie had given up on trying to get him off.  

Charlie sighed.  He gestured for Fred to come closer, and once the younger had, he lifted the blankets.  “Go to sleep. All of you.” 

The twins did as told without hesitation; they were both out like lights as soon as their heads hit pillows.  Charlie pulled Barty into his arms, threading his fingers through the older male’s hair as he, too, closed his eyes to prepare for sleep.     


	27. Chapter 27

As far as Bill knew, Charlie was behaving himself with the twins; he hadn’t found any of them together, and none of their behavior seemed more or less different to how it had been when they’d first arrived.  

So it was when Fred came to him out of the blue one night, teary-eyed and hiccupping, Bill worried.  

“What’s wrong, Fred?” he murmured as he put his book down and reached out to cup his brother’s face.  His frown deepened when the younger let out a sob, and he couldn’t help but pull the other into his arms and hold him close.  “Did something happen?” 

Fred nodded.  He sniffed before he muttered, “I tried so hard, Bill…  Honest I did! But I can’t stop…” 

“Who?” Bill threaded his fingers through Fred’s hair.  After a long day of work, thinking was difficult and he didn’t understand as easily as he would otherwise have.

“Georgie…” Fred sniffed again.  “I stopped like you told me to because I love him…  It was so hard, Bill… So hard… But seeing Charlie keeps making me do it…” 

Bill understood then.  Fred might never be able to be around Charlie again without going back to the habits their brother had engraved deep within him.  It was heartbreaking to think that the twins would need to be kept far away from Charlie – perhaps for their rest of their lives – but, as Bill knew only too well, he had just himself to blame for this.  

“Fred…” Bill didn’t know what else to say; Fred knew what he was doing was wrong, and he didn’t need to be yelled at for it when it wasn’t entirely his fault.  He’d tried his hardest to keep his hands from George and he had managed to do so, despite how agonizing Bill was sure it had been for him – it was just unfortunate that being around Charlie was enough to push him over the edge again.  “…Where’s George now?”

“Still asleep…” Fred wiped at his eyes.  “He’s gonna hate me, isn’t he…? I tried my best to make him feel good when I do it but it just makes him hate me even more…  He hates it when I make it painful and he hates me even more when I make it pleasurable…” 

“Because he’s confused why something that’s hurt him for so long suddenly sends pleasure through him instead,” Bill murmured gently.  “I’m sure he doesn’t hate you over it; he’s just scared and confused. Maybe you two should try and stay away from Charlie as much as you can.  Mum will be back in a few days to take you home. Or I can try and get time off work and stay with you guys at the Burrow instead – just us three.”

Fred shook his head.  “Mum said they’d fire you if you asked for time off because you disappeared for so long…” 

“They would; I can’t believe they even let me take my job back after all that…” Bill looked at his wristwatch and sighed.  It was nearing nine at night, and Charlie still hadn’t come back with dinner for everyone. “I hope Charlie’s alright…” 

“I hope Charlie died,” Fred murmured.  Bill gave him a pained look. He didn’t understand why Fred went from idolizing Charlie one day to resenting him the next, but he suspected it had to do with the amount of trauma he had suffered at the hands of his brother – perhaps even a bit of Stockholm syndrome, as he had heard Muggles talk about.  “I hate him so much… He made me make Georgie be scared of me…” 

The older male closed his eyes.  His fingers never stopped playing with Fred’s short hair; whatever it took to bring comfort to the twin…  “I understand why you feel that way, Fred… I really do…”

“Do you hate Charlie and want him to die, too?” Fred gave the other a hopeful look at this.  

“No, Fred,” Bill said softly.  “I used to be angry at him, too…  Very, very angry… Just like I’m sure you’re still feeling…  And after Percy… Well, it made me feel so much worse… I still think about things; I think about Percy, and everything Charlie did to me –  _ still  _ does to me…  But for some reason, I just can’t bring myself to hate him…  He  _ needs  _ me, Fred…  I guess my big brother instincts just overpower everything else…”

“Or you’re just stupid…” 

“…That, too, Fred…  That, too…” 

They fell silent.  Bill kept Fred firmly on his lap, holding him close while Fred stared angrily at the wall opposite them.  The older Weasley had gone back to his book, drinking in the words as he quickly became lost in a fantasy world.  

It didn’t last for long though; there was a bang from down the hall, and while the two were still trying to process it, George had stumbled into the living room, hurrying to their sides and tugging at Bill’s jacket.  Bill and Fred got up quickly to follow him, and once they were in the bedroom, they realized what had happened; on the ground lay Barty, blood covering his face and quickly staining the hardwood floor. On the bedside table he lay beside was blood on the corner, showing where he had rolled off and banged his head.

“Fred, go get me a clean towel…” Bill sprung into action.  He withdrew his wand and closed the wound before Barty could lose any more blood, and once Fred had come back with the towel, he wiped as much blood away as he could.  “He’s unconscious; he needs a hospital.” 

Fred stopped his brother from getting up again.  “How do you know that? He’s a zombie every day; he’s probably still asleep.”

“He isn’t, Fred; he’s –“

“-You’d do him a favour letting him die, Bill.” It was eerie the way Fred was so emotionless now, as if he weren’t affected in the least by any of this.  “He’s better off dead and you know it. It’s cruel of you to have kept him alive this long when he’s a vegetable who can’t stop relaying the worst of his life over and over again in his head.  Georgie and I… We’ve suffered… But we can switch off. To be forced to remember it… without a second’s relent from it all… It’s cruel. It’s so cruel… If I had to live like that, Bill…? I’d just want you to kill me as soon as it happened…”

“I’m not letting him die, Fred,” Bill said sternly.  “I know it’s cruel… It really is… But he still deserves life like the rest of us.  And besides that, Charlie is the one who has the say on this; he’s  _ Charlie’s  _ boyfriend.” 

“ _ Charlie  _ deserves to lose something like the rest of us have lost because of him,” Fred spat.  “If you won’t do it, I’ll happily get a knife and make him die slowly and painfully the way  _ they  _ took  _ Percy  _ from us.” 

“Don’t you bring Percy into this, Fred,” Bill growled.  “I know what happened to Percy is  _ wrong _ , but we’re  _ better  _ than that.  Now move aside so I can get him to a hospital.” 

“No!” Fred yelled.  “Let him  _ die _ !” 

“If you don’t move, he’s going to die, and it’ll be his blood on  _ your  _ hands, Fred!  Do you want to live with that?!  Because I don’t want you to!” 

“I don’t care!  I just want it to hurt Charlie!” 

Bill shook his head.  He dragged Barty away from Fred to get room from the twins, and with that, he Apparated to the nearest Apparition point closest to the hospital, hoping Fred wouldn’t know where to follow.  

He got to the hospital with a still-breathing Barty, but he couldn’t stay and see how he was doing; with how Fred was acting out, he had to get back home and make sure his brothers were alright.  

They were okay – as okay as they could be.  George seemed to be avoiding Fred as he was clinging to Bill instead, and Fred kept giving him glares from across the room, but nothing was said between any of them until Fred eventually stood up to take George’s wrist and pull him from Bill’s side to go to bed.  

Charlie still hadn’t come back by the time Bill also had called it a night, and he was getting stressed; something must have happened to the younger, but by the time he had decided to get up and go look for his brother, his bedroom door opened and the smell of alcohol and weed assaulted his nostrils.  He gagged, but he remained silent until Charlie had stumbled onto the bed.

“Barty?!” 

Bill hadn’t heard Charlie sound so panicked in a long time, and as he felt the other patting the mattress desperately in search of his lover, he rolled over to touch his brother’s shoulder.  “Barty isn’t here.” 

“Well, where is he, then?!” Charlie snapped, but Bill could still make out the fear beneath all the anger.  “If you did something to him, I’m gonna kill –“

“No one did anything to him; he must have rolled himself off the bed because he fell off and hit his head.  I took him to the hospital.” 

Charlie gulped.  He whispered fearfully.  “Is he okay…?” 

“I don’t know.” Bill knew to be honest.  “I couldn’t stay with him; Fred was having a meltdown when I left.” 

“What if he dies?!” A sob sounded in the room now.  “No… No…!” 

Bill sighed.  “Charlie… It would be  _ kind  _ if he does…  He’s suffering so much…” 

“No, he isn’t!  He’s  _ fine _ !” 

“Charlie, I would hardly call the poor thing fine…  How he has to live now… is pitiful. I know it would hurt you, but it would be  _ better  _ for him to pass on.  He won’t be in pain anymore.” 

“No, but  _ I  _ will be!” The sobs came more and more frequently until Charlie was crying heavily.  Bill couldn’t soothe him; he’d got off the bed before Bill had a chance to do anything.  

Charlie moved to the side of the room, and by the sounds Bill could hear, he knew the younger was messing with drugs.  He said nothing about it; did nothing until what could have been an hour later and Charlie had finally come to sit on his side of the mattress.

Between his sobs and his sniffles, Charlie murmured, “I need you to take some hits with me, big brother…  I can’t… I  _ can’t _ …   _ Help  _ me…” 

Bill closed his eyes in resignation as he felt his hand moving of its own accord to the baggy his brother was holding out for him.  He should have known better than to think his life would ever get anywhere while Charlie was around. Like the twins, he was trapped in some sort of vicious cycle that would never end until he finally stomached the idea of cutting Charlie out of his life until he got proper help for himself.

The only problem was, Bill knew as he felt that rush of addiction slam into him once more after having been sober for so long now, was that he would  _ never  _ be the one to leave Charlie.   


End file.
